


I can make you care

by SkilledWarriorKiwi



Category: Homestuck
Genre: And they're stuck on that giant rock, Animalistic, Breeder AU, Eye Gouging, Feral behaviour, Fist fights with aliens, Grievous bodily harm with musical instruments, In the Veil, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Meteor, Other, There isn't actually any rape, Victim Blaming, cross-species communication failure, it just comes pretty close and it's discussed alot, pesterlogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-08 04:35:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1128431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkilledWarriorKiwi/pseuds/SkilledWarriorKiwi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another kink meme prompt; http://homesmut.dreamwidth.org/39716.html?thread=44856100#cmt44856100</p>
<p>Eridan is a breeder- this is after he destroyed the Matriorb and all the dead trolls were brought back Because Reasons. Anyway he goes into heat and the other trolls, especially Kanaya are like "yay our species can live on" and they really don't care that Eridan is so off his head on pheromones he can't tell up from down and the rest of the trolls are fine with using him as a breeder. </p>
<p>Then the humans find out, get angry and abduct Eridan, which results in a lot of fighting going down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> reminisce

You spend most of your time alone in your respiteblock now. After the whole “crash into a new universe and hook up with two more humans” thing happened, you and all the other dead trolls ended up being resurrected. Or saved via autosave or some other stupid shit you couldn’t wrap your head around.

Frankly, you sometimes think it would be better off if you stayed dead, just out of spite. Getting the silent treatment from every fucker wasn’t doing you any favours. The aliens were kinda friendly, especially the dark haired ones, but that stopped after your so-called-teammates pretty much banned you from talking to them, with threat of death via chainsaw if you broke it and likewise gave extensive warnings about you to them which then reduced your social life to zero. Fuckers. 

Hypocrites more like. Fuck the other trolls, at least you had a kinda valid excuse for killing Feferi and Kanaya (you didn’t even fucking kill Kanaya why is she so fucking pissed) unlike Gamzee who just went murder crazy or Vriska who was just a manipulative bitch from the start. But nope, you were the one they all spat and cursed at for some stupid ass reason. Gamzee they didn’t snub, Vriska they didn’t give the cold shoulder to. Well fuck them all. They don’t deserve your presence.

That’s what you keep telling yourself as you sat curled up in your pile of shitty wands, staring at the iron grey wall. You don’t need them, bunch of lousy hypocrites. You’re pretty sure it’s just you they hate, you they think it’s appropriate to shun. Well too bad you aren’t the one with the damn leader as his cuddle-buddy or the stupid spider bitch who just got fucking forgiven like that for no real reason. Fuck them all, you hope Jack kills them all.

Even Fef. Bah, even Fef hates you. All you did was kill her and she was brought back anyway! It was her own fault, kinda. She only gave a shit about you because you fed that stupid lusus of hers. The instant you stopped being useful she kicked your ass out. But no, you were the clingy manipulative bastard in that as well, yeah how dare you waste all your time killing other trolls lusii and leaving them to die slowly for her? Ungrateful. Fuck her, she can die as well. They all can. You don’t care. You don’t care.

You fall into an uneasy sleep, muttering those words over and over.

\-----

As soon as you woke up you knew something was wrong. Your horns throbbed, your gills itched and your body was flushing hot and cold as if you were sick. You squirmed as you shook off the remnants of your slumber, your inner thighs slick. A dull pulse throbbed in your nook, causing you to groan slightly and curl into a ball. You felt your heart rate pick up and you huffed irritably. 

You’d be lying if you said you’ve woken up this damn aroused before. You usually had to work yourself up a bit before you got this wet and aching. Well, you weren’t gonna deny what your body wants. 

You slid a hand down your pants, hissing as your fingers touched the inflamed lips of your nook. Your bulge squirmed out, wrapping around your wrist eagerly even as you slipped two fingers inside yourself. Moaning, you arched your back, squirming into the pile of shitty wands as you began to buck into your fingers, trying to press them deeper. Your bulge lashed back and forth as you moaned, stroking at the sensitive walls of your inflamed nook.

Your heart rate began to race and you toppled out of your pile, struggling to your knees. You shoved your pants down to your knees with your spare hand before you grabbed your squirming bulge with it. Tipping forward, you rest your forehead on the cold floor, moaning as you pushed your fingers deeper and squeezed your bulge with your other hand.

All too quickly you were near releasing. Grunting you draw out your bucket from your captchalogue, releasing your bulge to seize the handle and drag it over with a desperate hand. The sensation of cold metal against the hot skin of your thighs was enough to push you over the edge, crying out wordlessly as you released your genetic material into the pail, coating the hand still buried in your nook in royal purple.

Dazed, you remained slumped over for a few moments, struggling to catch your breath. With a grunt you pull your fingers free from your nook, getting shakily to your feet even as your bulge slid back in behind its sheath. You pull your pants up, hissing as the material rubbed against the sensitive skin of your inner thighs and nook. Wait…

You cautiously press the heel of your palm between your legs, up against the lips of your nook. Instantly a shudder of pleasure rolled through your body, causing you to let out a low keen. Okay, this was weird. The tingling began to return to your body and you gave a distressed hiss. Usually you can’t get aroused for days after releasing.

You press down on yourself again and nearly collapse with a moan, feeling your bulge begin to uncoil itself again and heat began to build back up in your nook. Your body began to burn with arousal and you gave an annoyed grunt before irritably kicking off your pants again. Fuck this, you’ll just release again, it should stop then.

\-----

Okay, it didn’t stop. You were now bent over your pail for the fourth time, working your fingers frantically into your nook, bucking frantically. Your bulge was coiling back and forth around your other hand as you pinched and squeezed at it.

Ugh, what the fuck wasn’t it working? Your body craved release but it just wasn’t happening this time. Frustrated you yanked your fingers free, causing purple droplets to splatter the floor and tugged at your bulge with your other hand. No, not working damnit. 

What are you doing wrong, what the fuck is with your body. Figures you’d get resurrected yet have a shit replacement body- a thick pulse of heat rolling down your spine completely derailed your thoughts, causing you to collapse on your side, moaning brokenly. Okay fuck this, something is wrong, something is wrong.

With a hiss you pull your hands free, ignoring the throbbing in your nook and squirming bulge as you stagger to your feet. You fumble at your pants, having to try several times before you manage to successful drag them up your legs. Your eyes flutter as the fabric scrapes against the inflamed lips of your nook and your bulge. Sucking in deep breaths you struggle to calm down your body as pulses of arousal shake your frame.

Stumbling around your now-forgotten bucket you stagger out of your respite block, lurching from side to side so violently you have to slump against the wall, the metal feeling wonderfully cool against your burning skin.

Slowly you began to inch your way down the hallway, making your way to the main husktop lab on the asteroid. Someone’s bound to be there. Someone’s bound to know just what the fuck is wrong with you.


	2. Chapter 2

You are now JADE HARLEY and you have no idea how utterly shit the rest of your week will be.  


But at the moment you were content and comfy, sitting on the floor of Rose’s room and tinkering with one of your old rifles. You don’t practice as much as you should be doing and you knew if Grandpa was still around he would give you a scolding about it. However it felt therapeutic, normal even, to clean out the weapon and fix any faults.

Rose was there, sitting cross-legged on her bed and typing anyway on her laptop. Dave and John were all but crammed up against the television screen on the other side of the room, playing one of the video games John managed to alchemize. If anything the whole scene was hilariously normal and let them all forget just for a moment they were kids crossing some crazy-ass reality veil on a flying space rock to go crashing into a new session of that game that fucked up their lives.

You give a low huff and carry on polishing the barrel of your rifle, frowning slightly. Sure, you had finally managed to meet your best friends in the flesh and you had survived so far the crapiness of Sburb with Godtier to boot but holy fuck you were missing the sun and sky. The trolls were kinda used to the blackness, due to being nocturnal, but you were used to the warm climate of Hellmurder Island and all this dark and gloom was depressing.

The veil also had the nasty side effect of fucking around with your powers- while you could still teleport and shrink/float things, you now experienced much stronger periods of lethargy afterwards. Likewise if Dave attempted to manipulate time on himself too often he got struck down by chronic migraines, Rose could still See but it was so badly jumbled most of the time she couldn’t even understand what was going on and John could only summon strong breezes before being hit with lethargy and he got antsy and angered a lot easier, due to the lack of a natural air flow on the rock.

Rose claimed that this were most likely due to the fact you were all stuck in between two different sessions and your powers should return to normal once you hit the Alpha time lines or something. Personally you were just fed up with how teleporting and juggling mini planets now made you feel like you’d run a marathon and gave you headaches. 

You carefully look down the barrel of the rifle, making sure the sight was still straight, before placing it on the carpet in front of you where the rest of the gun, innards and all, were arranged in neat formation. 

A confused huff from Rose’s direction caused you to glance over at her- she was paused in mid type, her lips pursed, a baffled expression fixed on her face.

You snapped your fingers, causing her to jerk out of her musings, “What’s up?” you asked, ears perked.

Rose looked down at her laptop then back over at you, “Just a conversation I’m having with Kanaya is…odd, to say the least.”

“Odd like typical alien shit odd?”

“She is exhibiting an unusually extreme amount of glee and spelling errors. Also, her usual typing quirk is all over the place. Here, come see,” she beckoned with a finger.

You frown- you know how weird and strict the trolls were about their typing quirks. They had been sufficiently disturbed when they noticed the general lack of them amongst your friends, once they swallowed the fact you guys didn’t write in your blood colours.

You captchalog your gun- not bothering to put it back together, you’ll do that later- and jump up on the bed next to Rose. She tilted the laptop towards you, letting you see the latest conversation she was having with Kanaya. Sure enough, there was gratuitous spelling errors and erratic typing.

“You think she’s drunk or something?” You say, squinting at the screen. She was jabbering about something…rare? Wonderfully rare and…mutated and species saving? What?

Rose gave a little shrug, dark lips twisted, “I have no idea. She has never behaved like this before. Not even while telling me about her subsequent erm death.”

Oh yeah. The whole ‘mass murdering’ the trolls did while you four humans were off getting attacked by a crazy demonic chess piece with clothing problems. You didn’t really know what actually happened, just that loads died then…came back when you managed to hurl your Godtier ass to the meteor along with John, Rose and Dave before your session exploded to hell and gone. 

You were jerked out of your musing by a sharp ding from Rose’s computer as someone sent her a message-

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] ONE WEEK FROM NOW began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
FCG: GET TO THE HUSKTOP LAB RIGHT FUCKING NOW.  
  
FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] ONE WEEK FROM NOW stopped trolling tentacleTherapist [TT]  


You exchanged puzzled looks with Rose. A split second later she shut her laptop, an odd expression crossing her face.

“What does that mean?” You ask, frowning, “Are the trolls fighting again or something?”

“Who knows,” Rose said, “However, we would be foolish to ignore this. Boys,” she turned, snapping her fingers at Dave and John’s direction, “We’ve got business to attend to.”

They both moaned and complained, well John mostly, but under Rose’s stern gaze they switched off their game and got up.

“So, who’s murdering who?” Dave asked, hands in his pockets.

“That’s what we’re about to find out!” You say cheerily, ears perking, “Here, I’ll just bounce us over, hang on!”

With a crackle and a blast of vibrant green, you teleport yourself and your friends to the computer lab.

\-----

When you arrived, the first thing you did was sniff the air, ears perking up in curiosity; a strange scent suffused the air. It was heady and thick with a weird tangy undertone. It seemed to be coming from the twitching pile of bike horns in the computer lab which Kanaya was standing in front of like a well-dressed guard. The rest of the trolls were prowling around her, muttering to each other in low tones and sniffing. You notice Karkat and Gamzee were the only ones missing- and well, so was Aradia but she had been off doing some random time stuff in different timelines and various dreambubbles for a while now.

Kanaya glanced over at the flash of green with a frown before smiling brightly as she registered your little group. She beckoned you closer with a hand even as she gave a warning look to Vriska who was not-so-subtly trying to get nearer to the pile.

“Ah, you arrived! I was worried that in my eagerness you couldn’t understand me,” Kanaya flushed slightly, as if embarrassed over her previous word salad, “But I was just so giddy over what has happened. I wasn’t too sure if I should tell you before or after, but I could barely contain my excitement especially from Rose and you as well Jade.”

“Me?” You blink. Sure, you kinda liked all the trolls but Kanaya spent the majority of her time with Rose.

“Of course! You’re the one who helped me get more comfortable with my role as the matriorib’s guardian and future caretaker. And as such I feel it would be prudent to involve you with this wonderful news as well,” Kanaya pursed her black lips slightly, “And, well, John and Dave are naturally close with you, so it would be more appropriate to deliver the news in an accurate manner to you all, since I have noticed we tend to have some cross-species communication failures from time to time. That and my typing wasn’t…up to par while speaking to Rose, so I figured a face-to-face chat would solve this issue.”

Kanaya suddenly turned, snake quick, to hiss a warning towards Sollux as he inched a few feet closer to the pile of horns. The four-horned troll growled in response, curling his dark lips, but nonetheless backed up. Kanaya looked back over at you, a smile quickly reappearing on her face, “Do forgive their restlessness. Everyone is a bit...jumpy.”

“That is an adapt response to being trapped on a space-faring rock with naught but the same company for three years,” Rose responded with a faint smile, “But forgive me, I do not understand what you wish to speak to us about, Kanaya. You mentioned the matriorb- did you finally succeed in alchemizing another one?”

The troll shook her head, a broad smile showing off her long fangs, her face glowing- in all manner of the word, “No, that I haven’t. However, fate has granted us a- if you will excuse the word- miracle for my race.”

Rose frowned, a furrow appearing between her brows, “Then…what have you found, if not another matrorib?”

Kanaya started to reply but a low pained whine interrupted her, followed by a chorus of ‘honks’ as someone started to thrash about on the pile of horns. You gave a grunt, ears perking. As a unit, the four of you moved until you all saw who was lying on the horn pile-it was Eridan. 

You’d only spoken to him a few times, but you’d enjoyed the conversation as you had gotten into a massive gun/rifle debate with the sea troll. He was kinda prissy and snobbish but he was fun to verbally fight with. However after the first few times you had spoken to him, you had been pulled aside and thoroughly warned about his violent nature and how he had killed Kanaya and Feferi and ended up blinding Sollux in a fit of back-stabbing rage. Kanaya had stopped him from killing anyone else, but you’d been warned at how being a violet blood meant he could snap at any time and was pretty much forbidden from speaking to him.

You frowned- though it was weeks ago, Eridan has looked perfectly healthy last time you saw him. Judging from the look on your friend’s faces they also noticed how feverish the troll looked now, with sweat beading his face and his hands scrabbling at his chest.The musky scent was even thicker and there was a cooper undertone like blood to his scent.

Kanaya now snapping something at Nepeta, shooing her away like a disobedient cat and began to lecture the other trolls on decent behavior like some angry house mum.

“Kanaya!” John interrupted, frowning, “Why are you just standing there? He looks pretty sick.” John started forward- with you following at his heels- only to stop when Kanaya slid in front of him, rant postponed, and holding up a clawed hand.

“John, Eridan’s state is perfectly natural. In fact, this is what I called you up here. He is the miracle, the final hope for our race.”

“So, what,” Dave said, voice dry, “He’s just gonna hope real hard while half dead and pop some hipster troll babies outta the air?”

Kanaya gave Dave a look that reminded you of a disapproving parent- judging from the stifled giggle from John, he also noticed the resemblance- before she said, “No, far from it. As you know, we have confiscated Eridan’s wand, due to his murderous rampage before you four arrived hence his inability to use this…’white science’ as he dubbed it. But no, Eridan’s ability far transcends his fighting- it’s a genetic anomaly that was extinct well before my time and it never crossed my mind to consider it a possibility, despite my frantic searches after the destruction of the matriorb.”

John cocked his head to the side, his front teeth digging into his lip before he spoke, “Kanaya that’s nice and all, but what’s that got to do with Eridan looking all feverish and why you guys don’t care? Seems a pretty lousy thing to do to me.”

Kanaya narrowed her eyes but otherwise didn’t display any anger, “Because, John, I have discovered that Eridan is a breeder.”

Silence followed that declaration, broken only by the soft whines coming from the horn pile as Eridan thrashed about and the low hissing and pacing from the other trolls.

Then Dave spoke, “Sounds like something out of Rose’s fanfics.”

Rose glared at him, “Now is not the time for your so-called irony, brother.” She looked back over at Kanaya, a confused twist to her dark lips, “I think there is some miscommunication here Kanaya- a breeder?”

Kanaya smiled even as she shooed a panting Terezi away from Eridan, “Ah yes, as you know humans and trolls do not reproduce in the same manner. Humans, as I know, can only breed between a male and female pair and in most cases all humans are fertile. Correct?”

You nod, a feeling of deep unease erupting in your gut.

“But trolls,” Kanaya continued, “Cannot breed between one another; we need a Mother Grub to do so. A Mother Grub isn’t a troll like myself, but mixes the genetic material of trolls together to create broods in the thousands in a single birthing. However…”

Here she shifted so she was kneeling next to the pile, reaching out and brushing away the beads of sweat that dotted Eridan’s forehead, her expression incredibly tender, “There was a time before the Mother Grub where trolls could breed. They were extremely uncommon, however, but a Breeder could lay clutches of a dozen eggs in a single birthing. But when the reign of the Condense began and the introduction of the Mother Grub occurred, she banned all mention of them and eradicated them as she did the Lime bloods until they faded into myth. But now…now, as the threat of the nigh extinction of our race approaches, this wonderful opportunity has presented itself. However, I wanted to explain what was occurring to you four as, being humans, I didn’t want to cause undue stress or confusion before it begins.”

You frown, “What do you mean, before it begins?” Out of the corner of your eye you notice Rose stiffen, her posture becoming tense.

“You intend to use Eridan’s breeder abilities,” Rose said, her voice cold and precise.

Kanaya either didn’t notice or ignored Rose’s hostile tone, speaking in an enthusiastic voice, “Exactly. This is a golden opportunity as it appears Eridan has just entered his heat. And since so little is known of breeders, his heat could very well been the only time he is fertile or he even may have his heat once during who knows how many sweeps. Therefore I’ve called the trolls who weren’t here when Eridan arrived to the lab. Most have arrived and we are just waiting on Karkat and Gamzee. As you know Aradia is off searching the dreambubbles and timelines so is otherwise occupied. Once those two arrive though, we shall begin. I just wanted to clarify the situation with-“

“What do you mean ‘begin’?” John interrupted, cocking his head to the side and echoing your previous question. Next to you, you feel Dave twitch, a look of disgust and anger crossing his face. Rose appeared likewise disturbed and you felt ice run up and down your spine as you fully understood Kanaya’s meaning.

Before Kanaya could respond Rose interrupted, expression tight, “Kanaya, you cannot be serious. Eridan is obviously not fit to give his opinion or consent in this scenario.”

“Wait what?” John’s puzzlement gave way to anger, “You mean you guys want to…” He trailed off, not even able to give voice to it.

“Well of course we do,” Kanaya said, sounding genuinely confused, “This is a golden opportunity and we cannot squander it. We have no idea how long his heat will go for, therefore we must all use him at least once before-“

Dave snapped, “Are you fucking serious?” You let out an angry snarl, ears flattening against your skull even as next to you John hunched down slightly, as if preparing for a fight. 

Rose stepped forward, hands held up, as she said calmly, “Kanaya, what you are proposing is abhorrent- Eridan is not in a correct state of mind and is obviously scared and confused. I refuse to accept that you intend to take advantage of him in this vulnerable state. What more I am appalled that any of you think this is acceptable.”

“And I am disappointed you don’t understand what this means to my race,” Kanaya retorted, her voice becoming razor sharp, “You humans have the luxury of time on your side and full understanding of your own reproduction.”

“Actually, there’s just four of -” Dave began but got steamrolled over by Kanaya continuing tirade.

“However so little is known about breeders! Eridan could only be in heat once, or he could go into his next heat fifty sweeps down the line, where most of the lowbloods of our group would be dead from age by then! We cannot waste time in a situation like this!”

“What, so gangraping him is the best solution? Wow, and I totally wonder why you guys turned out to be named after those dickheads on the internet who laugh about this kind of shit.”

Kanaya glared at the Knight, “I would appreciate if you could keep your ridiculous comments to yourself in this scenario, Dave. Your frivolous attitude is unwelcome in this situation.”

Dave snorted; you blink, not noticing at first that he had drawn his sword from his strife deck and was resting it against his thigh, “Sorry, should I be more chill with the fact you plan on raping a dude who looks like he’s so high he can’t tell up from down? Shit, I suppose I should go get my camera and make a whole scrapbook about this fucking glorious day.”

If looks could kill they would have needed to use dental records to identify Dave’s mangled corpse, “You are human so I shall ignore your blatant disregard for my species behavior-“

“I do not give a shit about your species typical behavior,” Rose snarled, angrier than you’ve ever seen, “I refuse to stand by and tolerate this!”

You give a nod of agreement, hands curling into fists, ears still flat. You’re aware of all the other trolls, barring Eridan who’s still moaning incoherently and thrashing, staring at you, statue-still, with their gleaming cat-like eyes. You feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up; judging from the stances all your friends have adopted they feel the same.

Kanaya tilted her head down slightly- you were instantly reminded of the threatening gesture a bull or other horned animal would make before charging. Her dark lips were pressed into a thin angry line and her fists were clenched at her sides.

“You are under the impression I am asking your permission,” She said, her voice as calm and cold as ice, “I am not. I am simply explaining the situation. Since it is obviously making you distressed and angry, you may leave.”

“No.” John’s answer was flat and unyielding. 

“You are under the impression I am asking you. I’m not.”

“Fuck that,” John spat, his voice venomous, “I’m with Rose, I’m not gonna just stand by while you guys do this stupid crap.”

Dave nodded, his sword twitching while you growled in agreement. A second later Kanaya had a tube of lipstick in her hand, her face calm, serene even. Out of the corner of your eyes you noticed the other trolls had also assumed aggressive stances, ready to attack at the first provocation. A tense silence descended on the room, broken only by Eridan’s whimpers and the occasional honk of a horn.

Then-

“Jade, get us the hell out of-“ You don’t even let Rose finish her sentence as you teleport the four of you and one seatroll the fuck outta there, just as the rest of the trolls move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things on my headcanon of breeders in this fic;
> 
> In this fic Eridan had no idea what he is- neither does any of the other trolls. Kanaya only found out due to desperate searching and even then it was incredibly vague information.
> 
> Aahaha, yeah Eridan went into heat so early partly due to his death and consequent Resurrection. Usually they go into their first heat a sweep or so after they pupate into full-grown adults. As adults they're far more durable and as such have a great deal more coherency in heat. Eridan, due to being an adolescent, is being struck hard by his hormones, hence his borderline delirious state. It's also his first heat, which tends to be one of the toughest.
> 
> Well in this AU breeders were given the same respect as Helmsmen- they became less than a person once it's found out what they are and pretty much just become things to further the empire. Unlike Helmsmen who are glorified batteries, breeders were only allowed to be used for Highbloods. They were fairly rare but could come in any blood type and when they did lay a clutch it would also contain a number of grubs that hold their bloodcolour/abilities as well as whoever used them.
> 
> Breeders, when their abilities manifested, were pretty much striped of any rank/privilege they had and given to a handler who took care of them. (Pretty much a glorified jailer, since Breeders were essential kept locked up all their life until they died.)
> 
> The only real 'rule' with breeders was for their handlers to keep them alive and in usable condition. Other than that, it was fair game.
> 
> The Condence didn't really like breeders (since she couldn't use them mainly due to the fact she didn't want loads of Heirs running about) but tolerated them for a long while. However, unlike a Mother Grub who cannot be moved from the brooding caverns, Breeders could be easily moved/abducted and as the lowbloods got more and more fed up with their crappy lives it wouldn't be uncommon for them to snatch breeders or try and free them. And since a breeder's clutch favour whoever pailed said breeder, unlike a Mother Grub who births every colour from every troll with blood powers (like Ancestors-Descendants) and could have hundreds of sweeps between them, she saw them as a threat to stability, because if a powerful lowblood got a hand on them, they could breed a pretty intense workforce if they kept the breeder alive long enough.
> 
> It was mainly because of that that the Condence ordered their extermination. She felt they destabilized the empire when there was an already established way to breed i.e Mother Grub. So she killed them all and struck out any mention/writing of them. The gene all but died out in the Mother Grub, with any potential breeder being culled as soon as it manifested since they were now labeled as 'mutants'.
> 
> Erm, any questions?


	3. Chapter 3

With a flash of green and a tug of fatigue all five of you are back in Rose’s room, with Eridan landing with a squawk on her bed. Dave immediately went over and stood guard by the door, sword still unsheathed, Rose climbed up onto the bed next to Eridan and John hovering uncertainly to and fro. 

You go over to the bed, leaning forwardly slightly to get a better look at Eridan. Rose picks off the troll's glasses and carefully places them on the bedside table before taking Eridan’s face in her hands, peeling back an eyelid.

She scowled, “Look at how glazed over and unfocused his eyes are. I doubt he even knows who we are at the moment. How in the hell could Kanaya justify-“ She broke off, her entire body shaking with rage. Carefully she pulled her hands back from Eridan, lips twisting.

“You can’t justify this shit, that’s what,” Dave said flatly.

You nod, “Yeah but I think those fuckers are gonna come after us regardless. They were about to attack us in the lab.”

Eridan made an unhappy noise and he started to thrash about, nearly hitting Rose in the face with his flailing limbs. She grabbed onto his arms and carefully pressed him down and started stroking his face in calm, even pats until his body relaxed and slumped back into the blankets. She continued to carefully pat his face and started humming softly until he slowly fell in a shallow slumber.

Rose continued to stroke his face, her expression remaining strained and angry as she gazed at the unconscious troll. You open your strife deck and check that you have some spare rifles. You have a feeling you’re gonna need them later on.

“Alright, okay we need a game plan. Well, ermn, different that the one we had in the actual game.” John said, biting his lip, “Oh god I have no idea.”

“Wow really? I never-“

“Boys,” Rose said sternly, eyes narrowed as she shot them a warning glance.

“Look,” You intervene, though watching the two fidget under Rose’s glare was quite entertaining, “John’s right. The shit is gonna hit the fan big time- that crap Kanaya was spewing out isn’t crap to _them_. That’s the problem. They’re gonna come after Eridan and I’m sure as fuck not letting them get him even if I have to fight them off myself,” your teeth were fully bared and your ears were flattened by the end of your declaration.

“No you’re not, ‘cause I’m going to be there with you,” John snapped.

“Same here,” Rose said and Dave nodded.

“Okay great, we’re agreed we are ready to kick ass about this,” John said, starting to pace, “Right great, more fighting. Um, if we get killed during this will we really die?”

You cock your head to the side, “Well, I don’t think it’ll be Just or Heroic to die fighting off allies who have gone mad from horniness and are trying to rape a friend.”

“He isn’t their friend,” Rose said bluntly.

You look at her, arching an eyebrow and she continued, “You were warned about him, were you not? We all were lectured about Eridan’s dangerous and homicidal behavior.”

“Yeah I mean look at him,” Dave said, gesturing to the sleeping seadweller, “There’s so much rage and badassery coming from him I don’t even.”

“Nah, from what I gather they all hate him, since what he killed three of them or something.” John joined in, “I think that’s why we got told abut Eridan.”

“I think it was only one that he killed. Sollux was only knocked out and Kanaya came back all glowy and vampire-y,” You helpfully add.

Rose carefully started to unwind the scarf from Eridan’s throat, taking care not to jostle the dozing troll, “Also, I believe it helps that Eridan has no one.”

“What? There are all the other trolls and Feferi is all finned like he is-"

“We’ve seen and heard full well their attitude towards Eridan,” Rose said without looking up, “It’s obvious all of the trolls dislike him and treat him with open disdain, even though he wasn’t the only one who killed another troll.”

John piped up, “Yeah Vriska told me about how she killed Tavros for no real reason than she felt like it and some other vague crap about their ancestors. All the other trolls don’t hate her like they hate Eridan though.”

“That’s because Vriska is manipulative and charismatic. Gamzee, another troll I believe that went on a murderous rampage, has the advantage of having the leader Karkat as his moirail. Eridan had neither. It’s now painfully obvious he is incredibly starved of any kind of normal social interaction and doesn’t have any of the benefits the other two trolls had, which got them so quickly forgiven for their killings.”

She finished unraveling the scarf, carefully lifting up Eridan’s head as she extracted it from under him. Spurred by scientific curiosity, you join the two on the bed, leaning forward to peer at the flared gill slits on his neck.

You wince- the skin looks rubbed raw, the slits gaping to show the delicate inner membranes that are swollen with blood. The thick smell is even more pungent up close. Carefully you rest the back of your hand against his forehead; small shivers rack his body and his skin is cold and clammy. With your other hand you brush against the flared fins of his ears; like his gills they were flushed bright violent. 

“How long do you think he’ll be like this?” John asked quietly from his post near the door.

You give a helpless shrug, “I have no idea. He’s a completely different specie from any I’ve encountered- he’s even different compared with landdweller trolls. It could be over in matter of minutes or hours.”

“Knowing our shitty luck he’s gonna be stuck like this for weeks,” Dave said dryly.


	4. Chapter 4

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
GA: Rose  
GA: Do Not Ignore Me  
TT: Ah, so here we are.  
TT: Tell me Kanaya, what manner of obscene reasoning are you trying to justify your actions with this time?  
GA: I Can Tell That Our Previous Conversation Had Left You And The Other Humans Upset  
GA: That Was Not My Intention  
TT: Really? How else did you think we would react? Congratulate Eridan and bid him a happy gang rape then leave?  
GA: Rose Please  
GA: I Know Human Reproduction Is Far Different From My Species  
GA: And I Do Apologize If I Causes Undue Stress For You And Your Friends  
GA: Please Believe Me When I say It was Not my Intention To Do So As I Have Previously Stated  
TT: As horrible as it is, I do believe you when you say that.  
TT: Which just makes the previous conversation that much more horrific.   
GA: How So  
GA: I Did Not Lie Or Attempt To Manipulate Any Of You  
GA: I Spoke Truly About Our Situation  
GA: What Is Wrong With It  
TT: Oh for fucks sake.  
TT: Kanaya, that entire display I saw in the computer lab was fucking despicable.   
GA: You Were The Ones Who Intervened   
GA: I Still Do Not Understand Why When I Clearly Explained What A Miracle This Is For My Race  
TT: Oh I fully understand.  
TT: But it’s obvious you don’t understand how abhorrent the behavior and attitudes you and the others were expressing.   
GA: Rose  
TT: Do not interrupt me.  
TT: I am going to only say this before I cease talking to you for who knows how long.  
TT: I am not going to give Eridan back to you. Jade, John, Dave and myself are in unison. Eridan is in a vulnerable state and you intend to do horrific things to him while he is unable to fight back or even speak. We refuse to do nothing while this occurs. As such, we have placed him under our protection and guardianship while he is in this compromised state and we may even continue to do so afterwards. The more I think about it, the more I feel pity and sympathy, mixed with anger, over Eridan’s scenario. This also includes the deliberate isolation you placed him under, despite other trolls being just as dangerous yet you seem free to ignore their trespasses. With that expressed I am asking you to leave us, Eridan included, alone for the duration of his heat.  
TT: And if you feel the need to come forcibly reclaim him then rest assured we will defend him.   
GA: I See  
  
grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased trolling tentacleTherapist [TT]  


arachnidsGrip [AG] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB]  
  
AG: Woooooooow  
AG: You wouldn’t 8elieve how mad everyone is right now!!!!!!!!   
AG: Including me >::::(  
AG: You took away something that was gonna 8e soooooooo much fun to play with!!!!!!!!  
  
ectoBiologist [EB] has blocked arachnidsGrip [AG]  


gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG]  
  
GC: D4V3  
TG: what  
GC: ON B3H4LF OF TH3 4LT3RN1AN JUST1C3 SYST3M 1 PL4C3 YOU UND3R 4RR3ST 4ND R3QU3ST TH4T YOU SUBM1T 4LL UNL4WFULLY T4K3N TROLLS B4CK 1NTO TH31R SP3C13S CUSTODY   
TG: are you fucking serious right now  
GC: >:[  
GC: YOU H4V3 B33N FOUND 1N CONT3MPT OF COURT 4ND GU1LTY OF H4RBOUR1NG 4 FUG1T1V3 WHO 1S 4TT3MPT1NG TO 3SCAP3 JUST1C3  
TG: really  
TG: hes a fugitive now  
TG: thought you were forced to give a pardon on murdering the murderers or some shit due to karkles  
GC: Y3S THE G4LLOWS MOURN3D TH31R LOSS  
GC: Y3T THE COURT H4D 4RR4NG3D 4 F1TT1NG PUN1SHM3NT FOR M1ST3R 4MPOR4 4LL TH3 S4M3  
GC: TH1S PUN1SHM3NT 1S TO B34R TH3 BURD3N OF OUR SP3C13S  
GC: 4N 4PT PUN1SHM3NT FOR H1S CR1M3S  
TG: would you stop saying punishment  
GC: >:]  
TG: but seriously you agree with what kanaya wants to do  
GC: H3 D3S3RV3S H4RSH TR34TM3NT FOR H1S CR1M3S  
GC: 4ND F4T3 H4S D3L31V3R3D  
GC: H3H3H3H3 >;]  
TG: so youre saying that hipster fish deserves this  
CG: OF COURS3 H3 DO3S   
CG: 1TS NOT EV3N TH4T B4D 4 PUN1SHM3NT 4CTU4LLY >:[  
  
turntechGodhead [TG] has blocked gallowsCalibrator [GC]  


carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
CG: EVERYTHING IS FUCKING AWFUL.  
GG: yeah no shit >:(  
CG: I CAN’T THINK FOR SHIT RIGHT NOW.   
CG: I JUST  
CG: FUCK  
  
carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling gardenGnostic [GG]  



	5. Chapter 5

A tense silence was wrapped around the room; it was like you’re all waiting for a lightning bolt to strike during a thunder storm... or something. Though said thunderstorm was a bunch of angry aliens. Or would the trolls be the lightning bolt? Bah, Bec never was that good at teaching you linguistics. Fuck it.

You glance at your friends, noting the anger in their postures- John was still pacing, buck teeth sunk into his bottom lip. Dave was leaning against the wall next to the door, tapping his sword against the wall. Rose was sitting across from you on the bed, her face pinched and angry. You let your gaze slide down the seatroll between the two of you, taking note of his sweat soaked clothes and the cape tangled underneath him.

Your shoulders slump slightly before you sit on the bed next to Eridan’s side. Carefully you take his glasses, captaloguing them just in case. Something tells you things will be getting a lot uglier and the last thing you need is Eridan getting his eyeball punctured or something. You stroke his face, running your thumb along the sharp cheekbone. You were intrigued by the fact he had no facial hair, instead his skin seemed to be smooth and sleek with tiny, nigh-invisible scale-like patterns running through it. He murmured slightly, eyelids flicking open to reveal glazed eyes. He hummed slightly and nudged your hand, the gills on his neck flaring open.

As they did the same musky scent you smelled in the lab suffused the air, causing you to start sniffing. You withdraw your hands, ignoring the unhappy whine from the seatroll who slumped back against Rose’s bed cover with a thump.

“We could give him a shower,” You say, causing John to jump as your voice broke the silence, “He’s all sweaty and erm…dirty. Also, he smells pretty strong. I wonder when he last had a bath.”

“Smells?” Rose asked, sniffing, “He smells a little bit, but it’s nothing noticeable- I can only smell it because I’m sitting right next to him.”

“Oh right, my dog nose!” You rub the heel of your palm against your cheek, “I guess you guys don’t have such a strong sense of smell. Well, Eridan has this really thick…musk, I suppose? It’s pretty common in animals- um, creatures in heat. They produce a lot of scents from their bodies to attract mates. However I think it would be better if we gave him a wash to stop it from being so…pungent. Or maybe spray him in deodorant? Wait, no, that shit reeks and makes me sneeze-“  


“His scent could also be affecting the other trolls,” Rose interrupted.

“Alright so the hipster is smelly,” Dave drawled from his post, “What’s the bet the others are gonna use Terezi to tracks us down like a bloodhound? They sure as shit weren’t happy when we left. I doubt they’re gonna leave us to our slumber party.”

John frowned, staring down at the floor for a few seconds before glancing at Eridan, “Well if they’re going to come for him we’ll stop them, right?”  


“Yup,” you don’t hesitate, “I’ll shoot them in the fucking face if it comes to that.”

“We can’t be hasty,” Rose interjected quickly, “It’s very likely they will die permanently if we kill them here. After all, it could be considered a Just death for them. I know what they plan to do to Eridan is utterly abhorrent but we must try to stop them without killing them. Try to shoot them in non-vital areas, cripple them or knock them unconscious instead.”

“Um, does anyone have any ideas what a trolls anatomy is like? Do they have the same vulnerable parts as a human?”

“I gonna try cutting them with my sword,” Dave said, raising said sword helpfully.

Rose nods, “We mustn't hesitate with using force- trolls grew up in a violent society. They will not hesitate to use violence to get what they want if push comes to shove. In terms of vulnerable parts, I would hazard a guess that the joints would be as susceptible to harm as they would be on any other creature. However, our main priority is Eridan's safety. In that case, Jade I think you should be the main body guard for him.”

“Because of my teleporting, right?”

“Yes. If things get too intense, you must get Eridan to safety. Do not concern yourself with us. We can fight and are all God Tier, but Eridan can barely move. He is completely reliant on us for aid.”

“Yeah what’s with that?” John asked, peering at the dozing troll, “It’s like he doesn’t even know where he is or who we are.”

“It’s likely he doesn’t. For all we know, breeders are supposed to remain paralyzed and compliant so they can be mounted as much as possible without retaliating. Or perhaps they rely upon quardrantmates to protect them while they are so vulnerable. Or it could just be because it is his first heat he is so badly compromised. But we don’t know that and speculating will not help us, so all we can do is watch over him until his heat passes. Whenever that may be.” Rose sighed.

John started to reply but a sharp brisk knock at the closed door interrupted him.

In a flash Rose was off the bed, needles in hand. John jumped between Eridan and the door, Zillyhoo ready and Dave crouched down slightly, sword gripped tightly. You knelt up on the bed and equipped your rifle, training it at the door with your teeth bared. Next to you Eridan rolled over slightly and nuzzled against your thigh.  


The knock came again, harder than before. Your ears perk- you can hear odd chitters, hisses and chirps beyond the door and you twitch, knowing that most of the trolls were just outside. The shit was _so_ gonna hit the fan.

“No one’s home, please leave your message after the beep,” Dave said, his voice bored.

“Dave, you answered my knock, it’s obvious you are in there,” Said Kanaya’s muffled voice on the other side of the door, “I would appreciate it if you opened this door.”

“I’d appreciate it if you all kindly fuck off.”

Silence.

Then-

“Look, I understand you are acting in what you feel are Eridan’s best interests,” Kanaya began in gentle tones, “Yet you all seem to be displaying an uncharacteristic short sightedness. You are so focused on your own morals and racial understanding that you are ignoring ours. Especially you, Rose. I had thought better of you.”

Rose gave a snort, “Yes, how dare we take umbrage with your incredibly thoughtful and loving decision.”

“Aw come on, guys! Don’t be like that!” Vriska’s familiar drawl said, cheery and upbeat, “Miss Fussy Fangs is totally right, Eridan is our last chance for our species! You don’t want to-“

“So he went from ‘something to play with’ to ‘Eridan, the savior of our race’?” John snapped, blue eyes narrowed behind his glasses, “Forget it Vriska, you’re not getting him.”  


A loud huffing/snorting noise rang out before, “Ugh he just smells sooo delicious-"

“Terezi!” A tense pause then Kanaya continued, “Please, just give him to us and we can forget this whole misunderstanding. You do not have to be involved and if it disturbs you so much I can assure you won’t see or hear anything-”

“No.” All four of you state, unyielding and cold.

“…Very well. I’m sorry, truly I am, but our friendship cannot be placed before my species best interest. I am sure you will understand eventually once this is settled. Equius, would you please-“

_Oh shit_

With a loud crash the door went flying right off its hinges due to one massive punch. John struck it mid-flight with his hammer, sending it crashing into the wall. A second later Equius let out a howl and recoiled, a needle jutting out from between the joints of his knuckles.

Terezi sprang right over the reeling blueblood, landing with a predator’s grace in the bedroom. Quick as a flash Dave intercepted her, his sword clashing against hers with a shower of sparks. 

She let out a cackle, long necklaces of drool hanging from her lips. “Dave, on behalf of the courts you are found guilty of harboring a fugitive! Yield and hope for mercy!”

“Fuck the courts,” He snapped, tensing his shoulders as he braced his legs. 

A split second later Terezi threw herself backwards to avoid a hammer to the face courtesy of John and ended up stumbling into a cursing Vriska; you fired off a shot at the trolls crowded in the doorway, managing to nick Kanaya in the left horn. She let out a vicious hiss and a second later you heard the familiar rumble of her chainsaw.

“Jade, get out of here!” John barked, jumping backwards to avoid a sword-cane to the face. A second later a massive squall tore through the room, hurling Terezi and Vriska into Equius and bowling them right back through the broken doorway and sending them crashing into the wall.

“Yeah now would be a good fucking time to split,” Dave said, expression grim, “We’ll hook up later once these idiots calm down.”

You nod, managing to yell out, “Don’t get your dumb asses killed!” before you warp yourself and Eridan into space with a blast of bright green.


	6. Chapter 6

With a flash you warp into an abandoned room in the lower levels, nearly tripping before you got your bearings. Next to you Eridan let out a short yip as he fell a few feet to the group, landing in a tangled heap.

Quickly you scan the room, rifle steady and ears perked. Apart from some ancient, dust-smothered machinery and piles of rotting crates the dark room was empty. Well, at least it’ll take them a while to track you down; to be honest you were a little disturbed at how quickly the trolls went aggressive. As soon as that thought crossed your mind you scoff aloud. This was a group who’d murdered the shit out of each other for no reason than general nuttiness and mood swings. Of course they’d choose to push, push hard.

You exhale loudly and store your rifle before getting up and going to Eridan’s side. He had half pushed himself up but was wobbling from side to side as if he was drunk. Carefully you hitch your hands under his armpits and attempted to pull him upright. You stumble and nearly fall over a few times due to getting your feet tangled in Eridan’s and him attempting to faceplant into your chest- you weren’t too sure if that last part was deliberate or not.

Stable, you slowly half help/drag Eridan over to the wall right next to the door and prop him upright before settling down next to him. With this position if someone threw the door clean open and stormed in you could easily kneecap them. Yes, good. 

With a groan you thunk the back of your head into the wall. Well shit. You don’t really know how this situation could turn into even more of a clusterfuck. Well, maybe Jack showing up and trying to murder you all again. That sure as shit would be the cherry on top of a really fan-fucking-tastic day. You clench your fists and give a low hiss of rage before groaning heavily and crossing your legs. Leaning forward, you remove your glasses and rub at your eyes before sliding them back on, glancing at Eridan next to you.

You’re surprised to see he’s peering right at you; eyes still fogged but far more lucid than before. His pupils are like black pools, completely dilated to the point you can barely see any of his iris. But hey, at least he's actually looking at you. Curious, you lean towards him and flash him a bright smile.  


“Hey, how ya feeling?” You ask, trying to keep your voice as bright as possible.

He continued to stare at you for a few more seconds before blinking rapidly, licking his dry lips a few times before he croaked, “Who….who’re fuck arrrre you?” his words slurred and slow as he scrunched up his nose.

Reaching out, you tuck a few wayward stands of hair behind his earfins before resting your hand on his check and saying slowly and clearly, “It’s me, Jade Harley. You know, one of the humans? The one with the green text. We've talked a few times and swore at each other.”

The seatroll’s brow furrowed and you could see his eyes studying your face intently. Slowly, a wide dopey smile spread across his face- well you were pretty sure it was a smile ‘cause holy shit those teeth- and he said, “You liiiiiiiiike me.”

“Kinda, when you’re not being a raging douchebag,” you retort, grinning. 

His drunk smile sudden turned into an expression of pain and he began to claw at himself, letting out angry cat-like hisses as he began squirming.

“Hey, HEY! Knock that shit off!” you shout, grabbing at his wrists and wincing when his jewelry laden hands struck your face and nearly knock your glasses off. With some effort you drag him forward so he nearly fell on top of you, ignoring his panicked thrashing as you wrap your arms around him. Twisting your hand you start to pat his hair and murmuring softly to him, even giving him a few gentle licks to the temple like Bec used to do whenever you were upset.

Gradually his thrashing stilled and his body slumped. Faint tremors racked his frame, as if he was cold and his eyes had slid completely shut again. Well, at least he calmed down. With a sigh you relaxed your grip on his lean frame, resting your head on the wall. 

You had nowhere as good an internal clock as Dave had but you figured enough time had passed since your absconding and the brawl that your friends shouldn’t be occupied. You quickly ping a message off to John.

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]  
  
GG: hey you guys okay?????  
GG: …  
GG: john????  
GG: answer me damnit!!!  
GG: ??  
GG: shit   
GG: um anyone dead? i really hope not cause then id have to kill all of them :(  
EB: no wait jade we’re okay!  
GG: oh thank fuck!!!   
GG: :D  
GG: i was worried you all got your asses kicked!  
EB: ahaha no. came kinda close though!   
EB: luckily we still heal god-tier quick.  
GG: oh shit it was that bad??  
EB: eh got a few scrapes and bruises and broken bones but nothing you’d call brutal.  
GG: bones? holy shit D:  
EB: yeah equius managed to clip dave with his elbow which sent him into the wall and broke some of his ribs.  
EB: rose nearly went all grim dark again she was so fucking angry!  
EB: even vriska had a ‘holy shit’ expression on her face when that happened ahaha  
GG: XD i bet  
EB: are you and eridan okay?  
GG: yeah were pretty good!  
GG: hes even speaking coherently now so that’s a bonus :D  
EB: oh so do you think his erm problem is going to be over soon?  
GG: well he still smells pretty strong  
GG: so no not soon  
GG: :(  
EB: well crap.  
GG: so…  
GG: whats your guys status? apart from injuries :P  
EB: we’ve split up at the moment.  
EB: rose is doing ‘psychological warware’ on terezi and kanaya while dave is ninja-sniping any that he comes across since they aren’t given up anytime soon. i just finished a brawl with feferi and managed to break that giant fork of hers.  
EB: you want me to come help you two?  
GG: i wouldnt mind the company and extra guard  
GG: but dont rush!!!!  
GG: i can wait for whenever since no ones found us yet  
EB: okay i’ll come find you when things cool down.  
EB: …where are you?  
GG: im in one of the old rooms that had all the machinery  
GG: so i think pass the lab and down those stairs with the funny carvings????  
GG: just send me message when youre looking and ill help out :)  
GG: no wait let me send the message first! you guys first priority is ass kicking!  
GG: so just carry on and ill tell you when i need help  
EB: okay, stay safe sis! :B  
GG: you too bro :D  
  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]  


\-----

You ended up spending hours stuck in that dark dusty room. You’d been tempted to teleport to a new location but your common sense urged you to stay in a safe, remote location. Dave, Rose and John pestered you a few times, mostly to give you updates or to complain about the stupid trolls. Other than those occasional respites, you were left to your own devices. Eridan seemed more than content to doze, lips curling and snarling in his sleep, so you ended up spending a good hour toying about with your disassembled rifle and putting it all back together. You were tempted to practice shooting but dismissed that idea as soon as it formed. 

Unfortunately after the fourth hour your habitual narcolepsy reared its ugly head. Though you hadn’t blacked out since God-tiering your body was still used to frequent naps and it began to nag at your for a quick snooze. You look down at the slumbering troll in your arms and growl faintly; you can’t risk sleeping without another set of eyes to watch your back and Eridan wasn’t good watchdog material. Well, maybe if he was awake and coherent but not in his current state.  


You gnaw on your bottom lip before finally giving in; your pride wasn’t worth one of the trolls getting their hands on Eridan.

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]  
  
GG: okay john im going full narcoleptic now so…  
EB: okay!  
EB: just gonna have to kick some ass then i’ll be right over.  
GG: see you then! :D  
  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]  


You nearly nodded off a few times while waiting for your ecto-sibling, head lolling only to jerk it back up with a snort, blinking furiously.

Then you nearly let out a shriek as John materialized out of thin air in front of you.

“Holy shit!” you hiss, ears shooting up as your stagger upright, prying yourself free from Eridan. He let out an unhappy whine before slumping against the wall like a drunk. You immediately jump over to John, reaching up to touch at the red blood caked on one side of his face.

“What the fuck happened?”

John battered away your hands with a laugh; being so close to him however, you noticed the lines of fatigue on his face and the green blood splattered on his hands, “I’m okay, Jade! Seriously, no need to fuss. We still heal like, super quick.” 

You scowl, wanting to scold him, but instead ask, “How’d you find us? And who’s blood is that?”

John raised a hand, blinking at the blood as if he’d just noticed it was there, “Oh um that’s Nepeta’s.”

“Nepeta? Well shit.”

He sighed and sunk to the floor, rubbing at his hands. You sit across from him, head cocked as John explained.

“Well yeah. After you left everyone kinda froze, then Kanaya started yelling some more of that high moral ground crap and Rose started yelling back and that went on for a bit. Then the trolls wanted to track you down, so Dave suggested that we go full Rambo on them and we pretty much been getting into scuffles with them for the past few hours. Anyway about my hand, Rose managed to get Tavros’s horns wedged in a staircase and got pounced on by Nepeta when she was coming to the kitchen. I was nearest so I tried to shove her off.”

John wiggled his fingers, “She had her claws right in Rose’s back so I grabbed her hair and tried to yank her off. But she was clinging right on and Dave had to slice opened her side before she would let go of Rose and she went full mad woman on me and her blood was going all over. Then Equius showed up and was really pissed that we had hurt his weird troll girlfriend-soulmate thing so we figured we should bug out. That was how Dave got his ribs cracked.”  


You pout, “I can’t believe I missed out. I mean, looking after Eridan was important but…”

“Yeah, how is it? He looks so drunk,” John giggled, glancing at said seatroll.

“He’s better. He spoke to me before, so at least he’s not completely off his nut,” You sigh heavily, “This really isn’t how I pictured our time on the meteor. Less fighting and more boredom.”

John made an unhappy face, “Yeah, wouldn’t mind some boredom.”

“Hey, how did you find me anyway?” You glance around the room nervously, “Is there tracker or something-”

John laughed at that and gave you a playful shove, “No no, I followed your breath! I went down the stairs like you said- though I kept as the wind, since the trolls can’t smell me when I’m like that- and I could… feel? Two people breathing down here. I figure it was you two.”

You gave him an incredulous look before grinning, “Really? Well that’s pretty fucking handy. You didn’t tire yourself out though? I know our powers have been acting shitty…”

“Nah, I’m fine. Anyway, you should get some sleep. Dave and Rose are still on the prowl and have got our backs.”

You nod at that; if there’s one thing those two would excel at it would be guerrilla warfare with hostile aliens.

You exchange some more small talk with John but eventually the nagging lure of sleep proved to be too much. You went back over to Eridan and curled up against him, wrapping your arms around the troll. This was mainly to prevent anyone from getting a hand on him; they would have to yank him right out from under you which would hopefully wake you up. While you trusted John in a fight- he managed to deck Jack in the head after all- you knew just how sneaky those trolls could be. So you rested your chin on Eridan’s head and curled up and promptly fell asleep.

\-----

A soft _thump_ woke you, as did a sudden emptiness in your arms. The smell of fairy dust fills your nose. Your mind screeched at you to wake and your eyes snap open. A second later you were on your feet snarling; immediately you notice John slumped on the ground, unconscious, next to you. A small part of your mind notes he has no injuries on his body then your attention is snatched away when you notice Eridan sprawled on his back on the ground a floor metres away in front of the now-open door with Vriska standing over him.

The god-tier troll had managed to yank Eridan’s pants down to his knees and was currently fumbling with her own orange outfit. You didn’t wait for her.  


With an inhuman roar you hurl yourself forward, not even bothering to equip your rifle before you attack Vriska with your bare hands. You crash into her side causing her to go reeling back. Before she could recover your sink your teeth into the side of her face and punch her in the chest. Snarling she sent a skinny elbow crashing into your gut; you grunt but sink your teeth deeper into her face, ignoring the coppery blue blood filling your mouth.  


Vriska screeched, her wings flapping on her back. You jerk up a knee and smash it into her side, letting go of her face and headbutting her. While she was staggering back, you punch her across the face, trying to keep her disorientated. Seconds later sharp claws lay open your arm and you promptly spit a thick mouthful of blood and saliva into her face, aiming right for her freaky, multi-pupil eye.

The troll crashed back first into the door frame, snarling as it crushed her wings. You leap after her and seize a fistful of her thick shaggy hair and yank her to the side, sending her face first into the opposite door frame where she collided with a wet crack, signalling a broken nose. Again and again you smash her face into the door, snarling incoherently until she stopped flailing and clawing at you. Then you throw her backwards, letting her hit the floor with a loud thunk. You stand over her, ears flat, teeth bared and fists raised as you study the bloody blue mess of her face, waiting until it become apparent she wasn’t going to get up in a hurry.  


Quickly you turn and go to Eridan; he was still sprawled out on the floor, issuing pitiful little whines. You kneel down and start to pull his pants back up. Your scientific curiosity urged you to study what he looked like there but you snarled that thought down; you were not going to try and violate him- even if it was just with your eyes- like that dirty blue bitch was doing. Instead you pull his pants up as quickly as you could, averting your eyes from his groin. He flinched and squirmed unhappily as you carefully buckled him back up, but settled as you ran your hand through his hair.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, she’s not gonna hurt you. Not while I’m around.” Carefully you pat him a few more times before going over to John. A quick onceover revealed he wasn’t hurt in anyway, it was if he’d fallen asleep. You scowl and shake him a few times but he carried on snoozing. You know John isn’t prone to just collapsing and a part of your mind insists that bitch outside had something to do with it. You’re tempted to go and kick her but you’ve got bigger fish to fry. Okay, first thing first though-

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
GG: rose you in???  
TT: Alive and well, my dear Harley.  
GG: yeah john told me about you guys kicking ass :D  
GG: um but john fell asleep while he was guarding me and vriska showed up  
TT: What? Is everything alright?  
GG: yeah i beat up vriska before she could do anything but john is passed out :(  
TT: Ah. Well, the trolls aren’t after us. It seems that they are ignoring us unless we engage them ourselves. I’m sorry Vriska got past us, though.  
GG: shit rose its you two against nine crazy aliens!!!!   
GG: your kicking ass all over!  
TT: Such kind words, Harley. I should warn you, I am vulnerable to flattery.  
GG: oh i know it!!!!! XD  
TT: Anyway, John will be safe until he awakens, you on  
TT: Jade, get out of there right now!  


You barely have time to finish reading Rose’s sentence before you feel something suddenly seize you in a vice-like grip. You give a snarl and try to stand, only to find yourself frozen. Frantically you try to struggle, try to even speak but all you can do is blink and breathe. You flick your eyes down to your arms and start to panic, recognizing the blue and red warping across your skin. 

_Shit shit SHIT_

An odd humming filled your ears and you flick your eyes over to the door, recognizing the four-horned silhouette peering into the room. Quickly you glance over at Eridan, who was still lying on the ground, barely coherent, vulnerable. 

Fuck it, time to abscond. You call up your Space powers and try to teleport yourself and the seatroll out of the room; to your horror you feel a massive constriction; it was like you were stuck in thick mud, the psionics holding you in a relentless vice-like grip.

At the door Sollux took a few stumbling steps into the room, eyes glowing like multi-coloured lamps. He twisted his neck and hissed at you through jagged fangs; you wished you had an arm free so you could flip him off. Instead with a vicious force of will you peel back your lips in a snarl and manage to seize yourself and Eridan, tearing free of the constricting energy and hurl yourself into space, teleporting the fuck outta there.


	7. Chapter 7

A flare of green and a sharp tug of lethargy later you and Eridan arrive at the ‘Room full of giant monsters’ as John had dubbed it. You stumble forward, falling to your hands and knees as your vision warped. Next to you Eridan moaned and rolled over so he was pressing his forehead against the glass of a massive tank holding some weird gigantic fish-goat.

You suck in deep, steady breaths, trying to stop your vision from spinning. Gradually our heart beat slowed and your vision went back to normal only for you to jump when your empty gut grumbled. 

“For fucks sake,” You mutter as you rub at your stomach. You really wanted a nice hot meal, hell even a drink would be nice. All this teleporting and fighting had left you exhausted, both mentally and physically. The slight nap you'd had before had helped but only just. You had no idea trying to teleport out of psionics would be so fucking hard. Bah, well you weren’t going to risk trying to venture into the kitchen at the moment and leaving Eridan alone.

You glance over at said troll; he was curled into a ball, small shivers wracking his frame. Sympathy erupted in your gut. The poor guy probably doesn’t even know what’s going on. If anything, his state reminded you of the few times you’ve gotten sick and feverish with Bec nursing you; you could only remember brief whirling sensations, the room spinning every time you opened your eyes and the utter certainty you were either going to freeze or vomit at any given moment.

Useless tears prick at your eyes as you think about your old faithful friend before you growl and slap at your face. Now isn’t the time for self pity and moaning, you have loads of shit to do. Like keeping your friends in the zone with this clusterfuck.

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
GG: im in the clear!  
GG: fucking aliens >:|  
TT: I'm glad to hear that.  
TT: I wish I could have given you better advice or a quicker warning, however it's incredibly difficult to See anything clearly.  
GG: thats okay rose :)  
GG: im so hardcore even aliens with crazy telekinetic mind powers cant stop me!!!!  
TT: Good, good. As for our current objective; We are continuing using evasive maneuvers and can buy you more time. But I’m happy you managed to get out relatively unscathed.  
TT: But how is Eridan?  
  


You pause and glance over at the troll who was still huddled up against the glass. You drag yourself over, wincing as your head throbbed. Carefully you brush back his messy hair, running your hand over his brow. He gave a low whine and pushed up into your hand, eyes unfocused. Sweat dotted his face and his lips were cracked and bleeding slightly, the violet stark against his black lips.  


GG: he looks terrible :(  
GG: I think hes suffering from some pretty bad dehydration and I dont think hes eaten anything since this horrible shit happened  
TT: Is there any water or food nearby?  
GG: not that i can see   
GG: well theres the shit those big monsters are in but i dont think we should drink that :/  
TT: Hmm. Well, he will need substance, especially liquids, since we have no idea on the time frame of his condition.  
GG: wait i hear someone coming!!  
  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  


A soft clattering of footsteps caused you to jump up into a crouch, ears perked, teeth bared. Quickly you equip your rifle and sniff at the air, momentarily confused when you can’t pick up any scents belonging to the trolls. You’re tempted to teleport out of there, regardless of your own exhaustion when the small form in the shadows materializes into the familiar form of the Mayor, who came padding out of the darkness towards you.

Relief washes over you at the sight of the little carapacian; you’re pretty sure he isn’t in the ‘crazed potential rapist’ boat and you sure as hell wouldn’t mind the company.

“Hey, it’s okay!” You call, “Come over here, quick, before you’re seen!”

The Mayor nods and glances left and right like he was expecting a troll to come flying out from the rafters before hurrying forward. He stops a few feet from you, glancing over at Eridan before setting the small bag he was carrying down in front of you.

He pulls out a can of Tab which he offers to you; you snatch it out of his hand, giving him a smile and waste no time in cracking it open and taking a gulp. The fizzy burned your parched throat but you didn’t care, taking three more mouthfuls before you pull the can away, wiping at your mouth. You give a sigh of content; while it wasn’t water, you really wouldn’t complain about getting a much needed sugar boost.

You poke around the bag the Mayor brought and snatched up a seashell patterned hand towel. You rub at your face, trying to wipe the blue blood off your chin. At least the Tab had gotten the copper taste of it out of your mouth.

The Mayor meanwhile had knelt next to Eridan and was trying to coax him into drinking out of a can as well. The seatroll grumbled and flailed ineffectually before you reached over and pulled him upright, so he was sitting up with his back against the massive jar with you pressed against his side. You hold Eridan’s head up, as he kept on lolling forwards as if he were drunk, and the Mayor carefully poured some of the Tab into his mouth.

Eridan gave a slight gurgling hiss before he began to eagerly drink, uncaring as some of it dribbled down his chin and onto his sweater. A pleased smile crossed your face as he drank; the poor thing must be pretty dehydrated by now with how much he was sweating. Lots of fluids always did one good while ill. Or whatever Eridan is.  


The Mayor managed to get Eridan to drink a whole can before he stepped back, tucking the empty can away (No doubt for Can Town later on) and going back to his bag. He took out another Tab can and what looked like a peanut butter sandwich which he offered you, his white eyes peering up at you.

“Thanks, Mayor,” You say quietly as you accept the food, giving him a grateful smile. Next to you Eridan let out a low croon before slumping against the glass, eyes half closed. In scant seconds you demolish the sandwich, exhaustion making you ravenous. Once finished you sent off a quick message to Rose;

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
GG: im okay!!!!! :D  
GG: it was just the mayor who wanted to lend me a hand   
GG: he brought me a sandwich and some drink :)  
TT: I’m glad you’re not in any danger. And Eridan?  
GG: we gave him some tab so hes hydrated a little bit now at least  
GG: ill try to give him some food in a bit after it settles in his stomach  
GG: howre you guys?????   
TT: Tired, battered and bruised but with no lasting injuries.  
TT: John has also woken up and joined us again. He feels fairly embarrassed at falling asleep, but apparently that was Vriska’s fault and I heard that you punished her appropriately.  
GG: fuck yeah i did >:(  
TT: We’ve regrouped after our confrontation and are speculating if we can trap some of the trolls. At the moment we have just finished fighting off Tavros, Equius and Terezi.   
TT: They seem to be growing increasingly… feral, so be very cautious, Jade.  
GG: dont you worry ill kick ass if they try to start shit!!!! >:|  
TT: Good, good. Where are you at the moment? One of us can come help you.  
TT: Hopefully with better results this time.  
GG: ahahah XD  
GG: im in the giant jar room  
GG: you know with all the weird monsters??  
TT: That place? Alright, I’ll send Dave to help you.  
TT: John and myself will continue to scout out the trolls and try to prevent them from getting near you and hopefully we can track down the others, so we at least know where they are.  
TT: Keep safe.  
GG: you too!!! :D  
  
tentacleTherapist [TT]ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  


An angry hiss caused you to glance over at the Mayor from where he was kneeling besides Eridan. The little carapacian had gotten another hand towel and had soaked it with Tab and was dabbing at Eridan’s brow like some tiny nurse, swatting aside Eridan’s grumpy failing with his spare hand.

You lean over and run your hand through the troll’s tangled hair, murmuring softly to him until he settled down and slumping against the glass with a sigh. You note with approval some of the glassiness had left his eyes. His gaze was a little bit off but you just put that down to not having his glasses on.

With Eridan subdued more or less, the Mayor resumed his cleaning, wiping off the stale sweat on the troll’s face and dripping some more Tab on the cloth to dab at the seadweller’s brow.

“So…” you begin quietly, sitting back and picking up your own can, taking a few sips before you continue, “You heard about all this?”

The little carapacian gave a sharp, abrupt nod and you saw his tiny hand clench into an angry fist.

“Yeah, we’re all fucking pissed as well. The trolls are too stupid to see how wrong this shit is! I mean, maybe I would be less mad if they kept trying to doll it up as if we’re the fucking bad guys! Well fuck them! Fuck them in the fucking face!” You stop, chest heaving with tears of rage blurring your vision. You know throwing a fit wouldn’t help and screaming would attract attention but you are just so fucking angry you want to punch something. 

A hand resting elbow caused you to slump with a sigh. You look over, expecting to see the Mayor’s little hand there but instead it was a grey one covered in numerous gaudy rings and tipped with claws. Eridan peered at you, dazed, and made an odd cooing noise at you like some weird finned dove that causing the Mayor to pause in his ministrations. You give the seadweller a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand slightly in return.

Before you can say anything to him the Mayor was suddenly up and in front of you, hurling the can of Tab into the darkness. It struck Nepeta in the face mid-pounce, causing her to crash into the ground. She jumped back up on all fours, snarling ferociously. There was nothing of the cheery young troll you’ve RP’d with occasionally in her contorted expression, pupils blown wide and saliva dripping down her chin like some rabid wolf. The side of her coat was torn open- most likely by Dave’s sword- and blood was splattered across her side. The long blue claws she fought with where unsheathed and clacked against the group as she began to circle the three of you, low guttural snarls erupting from her throat, her tail twitching.

The Mayor snatched up another can from his bag before he jumped in front of you protectively, gripping some sticks of chalk in one hand and holding the can of Tab up high in his other hand as if it was a grenade. 

You get up and store your half-full can quickly, ready to go to the Mayor’s side for some group ass kicking, only for the carapacian to make a shooing gesture with a hand.

You begin angrily, “I’m not going to leave you-“ 

Nepeta went to spring forward again only to leap back hissing as a stick of chalk hit her squarely between the eyes. While the cat-troll was distracted, the Mayor looked over his shoulder at you, pointed at Eridan and repeated the shooing gesture with more urgency. 

You were loathed to leave him, but you knew the fight would attract more trolls and the Mayor was a tough; he could handle himself and he obviously knew it was more important to get Eridan the heck outta dodge than getting in a punch up. So stifling your objections you snatch up Eridan’s bridal style, ignoring his protesting squawk, and took off at a run while ignoring the noises of a brawl between a little mayoral carapacian and feral cat-troll that erupted behind you.

You weave between the massive tanks even as Eridan wrapped his arms around your neck, making odd shrill whining noises as you run. You run until you finally reach the stairs, cursing under your breath about how bloody labyrinthesque this whole fucking meteor was. You slow down when you get to the staircase, not wanting to trip and K.O yourself or Eridan and quickly make your way up them. Following the halls, you slow to a walk. In your arms Eridan tightened his grip around your neck and tucked his head underneath you chin so you could feel the smooth slopes of his horns against your chin.

Ears perked, you carefully peer around a corner so you don’t run right into an ambush, sniffing at the air. Slowly you check one of the nearest doors, shifting the bony troll in your arms as you open it. Ready to abscond, you glance quickly inside. However it empty apart from a colony of dustbunnies and some demented looking stone harlequin in the corner. Eh, good enough. At least one thing this rock had in abundance was empty rooms filled with weird shit.

You shut the door with your foot after you enter and carefully set Eridan down. He blinked at you as you settled next him, this time leaning right against the door so anyone trying to get in would have to shove right through you. You give the troll a reassuring smile that felt fake before pinging off a message to Dave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the headcanon that outta all of the human kids, including the Alphas, Jade is the biggest and buffest XD She's the Amazon of the bunch.
> 
> The Mayor's covered wars. He knows how to kick some ass.


	8. Chapter 8

Dave arrived without incident, though he certainly looked worse for wear with his cape shredded and bloodstained sword at his side. The three of you stayed in the dusty room for nearly half an hour before you moved out, having to remain on the move to avoid getting tracked down and cornered. Even so, walking about increased the risk of running into the trolls, so it was pretty much a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. 

Rose wasn’t kidding when she had said the trolls were getting feral. Most weren’t even bothering with talk, just leaping out at you like crazed grey gremlins until you either knocked them unconscious or absconded.

Karkat was still nowhere to be seen, which caused you to feel both concerned and relieved. Neither was Aradia, the other God Tier troll besides Vriska. You asked Dave about it and he just said Karkat hadn’t made any appearances yet he had occasionally messaged them with helpful advice or warnings. Aradia however, had been full incognito and he wasn't able to track her down.

You were alright with that; Vriska was a bad opponent as it was and the last thing you needed was to get in a punch up with a troll who could stop time. At least all Vriska did was flail around with her weird-ass dice.

Luckily most of the half-mad trolls weren’t particularly subtle in their attacks. Most just seemed to think the ‘ATTACK ATTACK’ approach would work, the pheromones Eridan was pumping out pretty much screwing up their brain-ways and making them borderline rabid. Unfortunately with trolls, raised from birth in a shitfest of a society, they were pretty fucking tough and persistent. As such you couldn't pull your punches, for Eridan's or your own sake.

And neither did the trolls.

Turns out Equius does, in fact, punch incredibly hard. The blow had shattered all the bones in your left arm and made a gory mangled mess of your hand, since you made the mistake of instinctively catching his fist when he attacked you. The pain caused you to scream and trip over backwards in a flailing heap on the floor, one arm a useless, bone-splintered mess. 

You weren't too sure what the rest of the fight between Dave and Equius was like since the pain nearly made you black out and you spent a bit of time rolling around on the floor in agony but when your arm healed, the bones knitting back together and tattered strands of skin smoothing back to normal, you saw Equius face down on the floor with blue and red blood splattered about the hallway. Carefully you inspected your arm, finding only smooth skin underneath your tattered sleeve and muttered a thanks for God Tier healing. The trolls didn't have that, but they were durable.

After that confrontation Dave pestered Rose and John and the four of you agreed to meet up in the library for a quick rendezvous. Eridan didn't really seem to care either way, no matter how much you attempted to jostle him out of his doze. You and Dave carefully tracked your way there, you carrying Eridan while Dave was on point. You've never found the Meteor particularly inviting as a home- you greatly prefer forests, caverns and wide open spaces with sky and lakes instead of this dead-air grey rock. Now, however, every slanted shadow, darkened hallway and listless air was a potential ambush. You managed to make it to the library without incident though your nerves were shot to shit.

In the furthest corner of the library John and Rose had already made a makeshift fort out of tables and stacks of books. The two looked fairly mauled, John with numerous claw marks in his clothes and glasses cracked and Rose's usually immaculate hair was messy and had splatters of rainbow blood staining it. Quickly you and Dave hopped over the fortification, with you placing Eridan down on the pile of fabric in the corner of the fort.

Rose attempted to check over Eridan, only having to snatch her hand back when the seadweller snapped at it with razor teeth. He settled down when you gave him a harsh rebuke, grudgingly letting Rose check his eyes and temperature while slurring to himself under his breath. That was kind of a hit-and-miss, since none of you knew what his normal temperature was like and Rose speculated that highbloods, especially seadwellers, had cooler core temperatures than the warmer hued trolls so you were pretty much stabbing in the dark with your care. 

As it was, you managed to get nearly two hours of reprieve in the library, discussing the issues with John while Dave stalked about the book shelves and Rose managed to coax Eridan into eating some meatloaf she alchemized a few days ago.

This serenity was broken by the appearance of Feferi, who managed to slither into the room undetected until she sprang off the top of the book case she was lurking on, leaping at Rose who had her back to the seadweller as she was checking Eridan. John managed to seize the Heiress by the waist and hurl her bodily across the room, sending her crashing into a table, books flying everywhere, before she could harm Rose. You managed to smack Feferi in the face with several hard-backed books from your position hunched protectively over Eridan, snarling viciously at the fuchsia as she jumped back up on her feet.

Say what you will about the Heiress, turns out she's a fuckload tougher than she looks. She ignored her broken nose and bleeding side and sprinted towards you, shark-like teeth bared. Dave managed to lay open her forearm with a slash of his sword and she retaliated with claws to his face, forcing him to dodge even as the angry fuchsia pursued him. Rose whipped her needles through the air and got a thick loop of yarn tangled around Feferi's horns; the Seer yanked hard on her needles and threw Feferi off her feet, causing her to let go of Dave's throat.

You equip you rifle, ignoring the low growling coming from Eridan, and aimed, firing off a shot. The bullet struck Feferi in the knee cap in an explosion of flesh and fuchsia, causing Feferi to let out a screech. While she was screaming, John materialized out of the air behind her and struck her down with a blow to the head, knocking her senseless.

All four of you packed up, with you picking up Eridan bridal-style, and quickly filed pass the unconscious Feferi, with Eridan hissing slightly as her as you walked past. Rose led you back to the alchemizer, blood-stained needles clenched tight in anticipation of a fight. You got in a minor altercation with Terezi on the way there, but Dave managed to throw her over the railings of the stairs you were climbing up and you all ran for it.

Once there, you all quickly stocked up on as much supplies as you could store before Rose shouted a warning and you all scattered as Sollux stormed into the room. After that, you all basically reverted back to 'Rambo Style' as Dave put it. You didn't mind-you had mostly hunted solitary while on the islands (though Bec occasionally joined) and as such you were able to evade most of the trolls during your prowling. You would met up with your friends every couple of hours, mostly to get a short nap since you had to teleport out of a few scenarios.

It wasn't until you met up with Dave again did he tell you this whole shitfest had been going on for nearly thirty hours, with most of you had only got ten minutes of so of sleep. Well shit.

Needless to say, sleep deprivation wasn't a nice experience; Rose looked like some crazy cat lady, with deep bags under her eyes, hair a mess and orange robes stained with rainbow blood. John's douchebag behaviour was even worse and you ended up punching him a few times. Dave seemed to be the only one immune to crankiness of lack-of-sleep, until he explained he would accelerate time when he slept, so he could have a five minute nap and turn it into five hours while still remaining the Alpha Dave so he didn't cause splintered time lines.

You didn't really know what the hell he was talking about, so you just jotted it down as time travel shenanigans. You just cursed the fact trolls apparently didn't give a shit about sleep and could stay awake for weeks on end. Now you could kinda understand Karkat's excessive rages about the universe intentionally fucking him over.

On that sleepless note, Vriska kept making Rose, John and Dave fall asleep throughout the day, usually at really inconvenient times. You were immune to it, which confused you since apparently she was responsible for your narcolepsy until you realized that the ‘doggish tendencies’ you picked up must of made you immune to her mind trickery. As such you were torn between leaving Eridan unguarded or going to hunt down Vriska and subduing her again so you had all your friends on active duty. 

Thankfully the Mayor ended up appearing- looking a little beat up but otherwise fine. He stood guard over the seadweller, armed with a brace of Tab and a quiver of chalk, giving you enough time to sniff down Vriska.

That confrontation was pretty brutal. This time, Vriska was waiting for you. 

You manage to snatch up her dice and keep them hovering a few feet in the air with your Space powers so they couldn’t land as soon as you teleport into the room, having been warned in advance by John. Then you engage Vriska physically, not even bothering to equip your rifle. Turns out Vriska is a fairly bitchy fighter and won’t hesitate to do some pretty low-brow fighting tactics. But no matter, you've been hurt before.

Even so, getting a thumb rammed into your eyeball really fucking hurt, causing you to let out a scream as her claw punctured it, sending glass, blood and jelly spurting across your face.

You still heal God-quick so your gored eye was replaced in a few minutes after the brawl. Was kinda hard to fight half blind, though. The blood would also be a pain in the ass later on as were your broken glasses which were in broken shards on the floor.

In retaliation for your mutilated eye you seized a handful of Vriska's God Tier wings and twisted them as hard as you could. If you have screamed loudly before then Vriska shriek of agony nearly deafened you.

While she was twisting in pain, you grabbed her by the nape of her neck and grasped a fistful of fabric at her waist, hurling Vriska clean through door. As she staggered upright, you lunged at her while brandishing a spare violin of Rose's. You sent the delicate instrument smacking squarely into Vriska's face, sending globules of blood and bits of wood flying in all directions. You belted her with the broken violin a few more times until it was a mangled mess before throwing it to the side and gut-punching the fairy troll as hard as you could.

Vriska retaliated by goring you in the side with her horns- however a helpful remark from Rose earlier before gave you direct access to a troll’s figurative Achilles heel; you immediately sink your nails into the soft skin surrounding her horn bed. 

The troll let out a screech like a cat and threw herself away from you, eyes wild. This time, you made sure to keep on beating her until she stopped howling and thrashing. You then hogtied the conscious troll and teleported her in one of the small closest on the other side of the meteor, blindfolding her for good measure. Hopefully that'll keep her occupied for a while when she awoke. You then hid her weird sparkly dice under the sink before running back to Eridan and the Mayor, who had been joined by a disgruntled-looking Dave who immediately inquired about your lack of specs. You didn't bother getting a new pair of glasses- you only really needed them to read and you doubt you would have time for that- though Dave did look fairly disturbed when you told him of your eye-gouging experience as way of an explanation.

But while your friends were now safe from Vriska, apparently Tavros was now the troll who could mind control you. Thankfully he wasn’t especially used to trying to control someone the likes of you, so you managed to tell Dave what was happened before you tried to punch him out, which resulted in you flailing about wildly while trying to fight off his mental compulsions.

Dave was occupied with fending you off so he sent the Mayor to find and subdue Tavros. The compulsions in your head wordlessly urged you to kill Dave, to mutilate him then seize Eridan. You swore and cursed and raged, trapped in your own head as your body attacked your friend. Suddenly the string of command went taunt and snapped, signalling a successful intervention via Mayor.

You barely managed to apologize to Dave for giving him a split lip before the door went flying off its hinges and bright blue-and-red psionics lash at you like glowing appendages. You swear angrily and don't hesitate when Dave yells at you to warp out of there; you seize Eridan, tear a hole in space and vanish in a blast of green.

When you appear in one of the lower levels you intend to land on your feet. Instead you drop to all floors and dry-heave, bile stuck in your throat and bubbling in your gut. Black spots blurred your vision and you lurch forward so your forehead rested against the cool steel floor, breathing shallowly. Your skin crawled, flushing hot and cold.

Okay, no teleporting for a few hours at least.

Next to you, Eridan attempted to push himself up, only to fall and roll over so he lay on his side. He remained there motionless for a few seconds before he peered at you with a half-opened yellow eye. brow furrowing as he made a soft keening noise.

You attempt a weak smile from where you were sprawled on the floor, before slowly easing up onto your knees. You swallow a few times, trying to rid the taste of bile on your tongue. Carefully you manage to stand up, limbs shaking. You press the heels of your palms against your eyes, swaying slightly. Slowly the dizziness begins to subside when a distressed noise from the seadweller caused you to look down.

He was looking off to your side, dark lips twisting into a snarl; belatedly you recognize the smell filling your nostrils, exhaustion making you stupid and careless even as warning bells start blaring in your head. You attempt to spin around to confront whoever was lurking behind you, only to be froze on the spot, a soft tugging feeling clutching at your back and front.

Then you felt ice surge through your chest and spine followed by a weird, pinching sensation. You looked down to see a long narrow blade jutting out of your chest before it retracted with a soft _snick_ and a spray of red droplets.

You drop to the floor, dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm of the opinion Tavros wouldn't be very good at controlling fully sapient people like Jade, since he felt bad just controlling his imps and having someone actively fight back against his mind control would freak him out and make him loose concentration, especially if he's already disorientated. Also, Mayor kicks major ass. 
> 
> I figured Condie got it down to a T with Grimbark 'cause she's, ya know, an ancient crazy evil fish dictator.


	9. Chapter 9

You are still JADE HARLEY and you have just been killed via a Sucker Stab from the resident Legislacerator.  


At the moment you are still dead and therefore you do not see the fight that soon erupts a few feet away between two angry female trolls.  


Terezi, right after stabbing you in the back, dropped her sword and sprang at Eridan before your body even struck the floor. She managed to seize the back of the disorientated seadweller's cape, dragging him backwards towards her. He twisted around and snapped at her, only for her to slap him across the face hard enough his teeth clacked together and causing his head to collide with the steel floor.

While the violet blood was dazed Terezi jumped on his back, sinking her teeth into the nape of his neck when he tried to jerk away. She pressed herself up against his back, clawing at his sides and cape. She managed to yank the offending garment aside and seize a hold of his waist and started to tug at his belt when a whip collided with her back with a loud _crack_ , causing her to release Eridan with a ferocious snarl, violet blood staining her jagged teeth.

A sharp kick to the face knocked the blind troll away from the seadweller; Terezi managed to roll and smoothly bounce back up on her feet. The teal had seen better days- blood stained her FLARPing clothes (some of it her own, some a much bright hue) her glasses were cracked and she stood hunkered down slightly, teeth bared and hissing viciously like some feral animal.

In contrast her opponent stood straight and still, whip held at her side, wings twitching upon her back, dark red lips twisted into a frown.

Off to the side Eridan gave a low whine, touching the puncture wounds on the back of his neck with a shaking hand. His breath came in shallow huffs before he shifted, disorientated and feverish, then dragged himself forward until he was lying up against your sprawled, still-dead form. A jeweled hand curled into your thick black hair. However you were dead and didn't notice the gesture. 

As it was two female trolls were slowly circling one another, lips twisted in ferocious snarls, clawed fingers twitching in anticipation of a brawl. Then Terezi moved, darting towards Aradia with a hiss, claws extended. The rust-blood narrowed her eyes before easily dodging the attack, curling the tail of the whip around the teal's ankle and with a flip of a wrist she sent Terezi sprawling.

A pool of crimson blood had started to seep around your dead form, staining your hands, your clothes. Abruptly it stopped and jagged bolts of rainbow lightning began to flare across the blood and your body. Next to you Eridan jerked his hand out of your hair, staring groggily at your body which began to twitch.

Slowly your body began to rise with the deep puncture wound in your chest slowly knitting itself back together as your blood shimmered and retreated back into your twitching body. Slowly your consciousness began to reawaken as your body healed itself and your heart began to beat again. You remain on all fours as the rainbow gives a final flare of bright green before you are completely restored, life and vitality flushing your limbs.

Groggily, you could hear muffed, angry shouting, followed by vicious hissing and snarls. The smell of fairy dust filled your nostrils, causing you to silently snarl. It takes you brief seconds to understand what happened; that blind bitch backstabbed you and you died. Well at least you now knew you had God Tier immunity for this shit while protecting Eridan. Like _fuck_ Terezi was going to get to Eridan; you'd really kill her this time, screw what Rose said. But wait, where was he, did she get him first before Vriska showed up-

_FUCK_

Immediately you jump up to your feet, fist clenched, ready to spring to Eridan's aid even as you cursed yourself for being so stupid as to be so badly caught off guard. Grandpa would be rolling in his stuffing-

A hand tugging at your coat tails stopped you in mid internal rant; you immediately twist in place, fists raised only to blink when you see Eridan staring up at you, brow furrowed, yellows eyes unfocused. Relief floods your body when you see he's unharmed apart from some small holes and blood on the back of his neck and he still had all his clothes on. Good, at least the bitch hadn't gotten that far.

You ignore the troll brawl to grab Eridan's hand and pull him around behind you, with you positioning yourself defensively in front of him; you could feel one of his hands grab a hold of the long tails of your hood.

To your surprise the strong, sugary scent of fairy dust didn't belong to that eight-eyed thief, instead a troll clothed in bright crimson with matching wings was currently fighting with Terezi- you instantly recognize the gear symbol on her chest, if not the thick, curled ram horns.

_Aradia? What was she doing here?_

You were tempted to warp out of there, uncaring of the damage it would cause you- turns out dying didn't really help the exhaustion- especially if you were going to go up against a time-stopping God Tier. You also thought about pestering Dave since he would have the best chance of winning a fight against Aradia. However just as you were about to pester him, Aradia glanced over at you and gave you a bright smile. When she grins at you, you got a good look at her face; Her pupils were normal, not blown wide like a drug-addicts like the rest of the trolls. Wait, did that mean she wasn't succumbing to Eridan's pheromones? Did that mean she wasn't gonna go batshit like the rest of the gremlins?

An air-splitting _crack_ caused your head to snap up, ears ridge- Aradia brandished her whip like some cattle wrangler, lashing Terezi right in the middle of her face. The blow snapped her glasses in half and caused the teal to let out a screech of anger and pain as blood spurted down her face. She clawed at Aradia, managing to gore open her left arm. Aradia retaliated with a fist to the face, breaking Terezi's nose with a meaty crack.

Terezi reeled backwards, the lower part of her face and chest splattered in teal blood. She spat out a tooth, guttural snarls rumbling out of her throat like some savage beast. Aradia watched her calmly, expression grim. Terezi twitched then jump forward, jaws angling for Aradia's face. The rust-blood sank her claws into Terezi's hair, throwing her into a wall. She sprung right after the teal, smashing a foot into her ribs and knocking the wind from her lungs. Terezi gasped and twisted, sinking her jaws into Aradia's shin. She just bent down and punched Terezi in the face followed by a sharp jab to the throat and causing the teal to let go. Terezi then slashed at the Aries face with sharp claws, forcing her to jump back to avoid getting an eye gored out.

While Aradia was distracted, Terezi skittered across the floor and snatched up her discarded sword, hissing viciously at the rust-blood as she did so. You scowl, seeing the blade still stained with red. You were tempted to attack, but figured the brawl would take out one of the trolls and it was likely said winner would come after you next.

Aradia twisted her lips, watching Terezi as she adjusted her grip on her canesword. The instant Terezi moved, lunging forward and blade aimed right for Aradia, the God Tier pulled back her arm, brandishing her whip. A loud _crack_ echoed through the air as she flicked it forward- causing you to wince at the sound- and managed to snag the whip's tip around the hilt and lower portion of the sword blade. Aradia pirouetted quickly, gripping her whip handle with both hands as she yanked hard, tearing the blade out of Terezi's grip, flinging it across the room with a clang. Terezi let out a screech of anger and threw herself at Aradia. The Aries watched the teal as she charged forward before holding up a hand, a soft white light enveloping her body. 

Instantly Terezi froze as the light seized her. The Libra growled lowly, her expression murderous. Aradia just raised an eyebrow before smashing Terezi against the roof of the room with a crash. With a flick of her wrist she then sent her colliding with the floor; she repeated this several times until Terezi was hanging like a bloody rag doll, one of her legs at an awkward angle. Aradia then threw Terezi across the room where she rolled a few times before stopping to a halt.

Aradia watched Terezi's still body for a few seconds before turning to you and Eridan, smiling broadly. Said smile faltered slightly when she saw the rifle pointed at her face. She bit her lip, looking awkward before giving you a jaunty wave.

"Hey! Jade, isn't it? Don't worry, I don't want to rape Eridan!"

Hmm, well alright then.

You lowered your rifle slightly but didn't it away as you said, "Well that's a relief. What are you doing here, Aradia? Why aren't you going crazy like the rest? Scratch all that, why show up now? I figured you'd been busy with the dreambubbles."

The smile came back to the rust-blood's face, her grin just a little too wide, "Despite being a God of Time I was...late to the party so to speak? I didn't know anything was wrong with this time line, since it's still the Alpha one and even if Eridan gets taken it doesn't make it a doomed one," She shrugged, "So I didn't bother to see what was going on since I never knew anything was wrong. Spent most of my time talking to the doomed timeline members and searching dreambubbles. It wasn't until another me showed up and told me what was going on that I realized I needed to come back here and help. I can't stay for long, though."

You point the weapon towards the floor, ears slowly easing up, "So a doomed you told you to come help? Why would you bother?" 

"To help you guys! I mean, Eridan is a pain but even he doesn't deserve this. I of all people know what it's like to have someone force themselves on me while I was mentally compromised," Aradia's voice remained bright and cheery throughout.

"Wait, you...?"

"Yeah," She smiled, "When I got my robot body. It was like my brainpan was broken or something and Equius did things to the robot before I inhabited it and it kinda programmed me into being his matesprit. Hmph, wasn't satisfied with just sticking his blood in the thing and screwing me up with that alone...But that's in the past now and I have complete control over myself! Well, I will for a few more minutes before time catches up with me and I get effected by Eridan's pheromones," She nodded at the seadweller, who was looking at her with an unimpressed scowl. 

You frown but put your rifle back in your strife deck, asking "So you're leaving?"

"Yup. Don't wanna go all crazy and you have enough trouble without another God Tier added to the mix. But don't be so glum- you're already half way through this, so just hang in there. You might want to leave from here, though. Terezi will be out for a few hours but Kanaya will be here soon."

Aradia gave you a wink and promptly shoved a small wooden box into your hands. She flicked her fingers and with a flare of blue a glowing music box inscribed with odd symbols flickered to life next to her. She waved before touching the music box, vanishing with a noise akin to a clock gong.

Eridan grumbled next to you as you sat down on the floor, gazing at the wooden box. A small note was attached to the top and you carefully picked it up, squinting at it as you read the rust coloured letters.

here hope this helps! 0u0 no wait that looks stupid oh who cares  


You grin and set the note aside and carefully unlatch the lid.

Lying on deep red velvet was your pair of Junior Compu-Sooth Spectagoggles.

\-----

With your Spectagoggles firmly attached you scooped up Eridan, ignoring his angered protest. As Aradia said you could now see Kanaya, chainsaw in hand, clothing in disarray as she made her way down the hallway towards your location. You wisely picked the other route to avoid running into her after stepping past Terezi's unconscious body- you were tempted to kill her but left after just gut kicking her. True to the Time troll's word, Eridan's scent hadn't changed in the last few hours- neither intensify or lessening, signally he was at his height of his heat. Well, you'd been awake for nearly three days (not counting the brief 'Oops, I died' part) so that meant you had two or three more left to go. However with your Spectagoggles you felt a lot more confident since you no longer had to constantly worry about ambushes.

As you hurried down the hallway you fired off a quick message to your friends;

gardenGnostic [GG] sent a group message to ectoBiologist [EB] turntechGodhead [TG] and tentacleTherapist [TT]  
  
GG: wow okay guys i have a lot to tell you lot!!!  
GG: so i managed to warp out of there but that bitch terezi kinda ganked me :/  
GG: and i died  
TG: what  
GG: yeah i had a big hole in my chest and everything  
GG: but at least we now know that getting killed at the moment isnt a heroic or just death :)  
EB: what??? terezi stabbed you?  
TT: I admit, I did no foresee this. I'm sorry, Jade.  
GG: hey its okay im not dead  
GG: besides that bitch got hers >:|  
TT: No, but if I wasn't so useless with my Seer abilities perhaps I could have averted this crisis. Instead all I've done with my own powers is sit and do noting.  
TT: *nothing. Forgive me, only a handful of hours sleep isn't helping my concentration.  
GG: rose seriously im okay please dont be upset  
GG: im the one supposed to be all-seeing but i fucked that up as well :/ hell i cant even teleport without dry heaving now  
EB: i can't believe she did that!  
EB: wait actually i can since she's killed me before, that back stabber trickster. did you kill her? she deserves it. you did, didn't you? I wouldn't care if she was.  
TT: I admit, I really wouldn't be too concerned if she was dead. Actually I wouldn't mind most of the trolls being dead at the moment. Call it sleep deprivation or typical homicidal urges of adolescence talking.  
TG: yeah im not too concerned about non lethal shit anymore  
TG: hell it takes a fuckton to even take out a troll look at how many times egbert had to beat the weeaboo cat one in the head before she would stop moving  
GG: ugh guys!!!!  
GG: yeah terezi is a bitch but so are most of the trolls  
GG: now i kinda get why karkat is so fucking angry all the time if he has to put up with all their bullshit >:|  
TT: Well, they did go from twelve players to four.  
GG: yeah theyre shitty team players XD  
GG: but anyway i got my Junior Compu-Sooth Spectagoggles!!!!  
TG: the fuck are those  
GG: kinda like all seeing goggles  
GG: i alchemized them before i went god tier and i could see anyone anywhere with them :DDDD  
TT: How did you get them? Did you alchemize a new pair?  
GG: no aradia gave them to me :)  
TG: so she gave you goggles and went back to whatever she was doing  
EB: shit does that mean we'll have another god tier to fight?  
GG: no no aradia beat up terezi and gave me the goggles!! she totally beat her ass with a whip!!  
TG: well at least shes not trying rape hipster fish. count the chickens when they come  
GG: yeah apparently she had her own consent/sexual assault issues before :(  
GG: which is why she came and helped kick some ass  
TT: That sounds extremely unpleasant. However judging from the current attitudes the trolls are exhibiting I'm am disturbingly not surprised. I do not know which is worse.  
TG: so trolls are a bunch of rape-positive gremlins who abuse doors whats new  
EB: I'm getting so fed up with all this bullshit!  
EB: but Aradia was...hurt as well? Is she okay being around this? I know that some people get panicked when they see this stuff if it happened to them.  
GG: she seemed disturbingly cheery and not bothered :/  
TT: Trolls live- or lived - in a society that fully endorsed murder, rape, cannibalism and extreme abuse against each other. It would make sense these kind of abhorrent acts are simply accepted and 'live and let live' policy. That and therapists seem to be nonexistent. No wonder so many have mental problems.  
EB: it's a load of crap is what it is! Ugh!  
TG: yeah no shit  
TT: Jade are you sure you're okay? Did anything happen to Eridan?  
GG: yeah im fine aradia intervened before terezi could do anything before she left  
GG: hes got some bite marks on his neck but theyre shallow and ill patch them up when i get the chance  
GG: oh and some good news!!!! :D cause we kinda need some in this clusterfuck :/  
GG: eridans at the height of his heat so it should break in a few days!  
EB: well that's something i guess. at least we know there's an end to this crap. wait aradia left?  
GG: yeah she said she could only stay for a few minutes before eridans smell got to her :(  
EB: that sucks :( could've used the help  
TG: yeah no shit its like the nightmare on elm street crossed with gremlins crossed with aliens  
TG: maybe add some doctor who shit and serial rapist ala hills have eyes with some it and well have an adventure worthy of a golden globe and one of those shitty grammys where we can fall dramatically down the stairs after crying like miss universe after monologuing about world peace  
TT: Brother, you're sounding even more nomsnensical than usually.  
TT: *nonsemical *usual.  
TT: *NONSENSICAL  
TG: okay whos talking nonsense now lalonde  
EB: so this shit's gonna be over soon, Jade?  
GG: yup!!! we just have to hang in there  
TT: Jade, do you need rest? You just died recently and these goggles of yours mean we could temporarily take over your caretaker duties.  
TG: kinda fucked that we dont even blink at the 'you just died' remark  
EB: fuck sburb. fuck those rapist trolls. I never should have used that stupid game! Now we're stuck here getting attacked by people who should be our friends but they're just as fucked and crazy up as jack noir!  
EB: FUCK EVERYTHING  
TG: sounds exhausting  
EB: fuck off dave!  
GG: SHUT UP!!!  
GG: bitching and whining isnt going to help you dumbasses!!!  
GG: i know were all tired and half dead but going fucking hysterical and screaming and shit is just not acceptable  
GG: AND I WILL COME OVER THERE AND SLAP THE SHIT OUT OF YOU GUYS IF YOU START DOING IT!!!!!!!!  
EB: ...  
TT: Well said, Jade.  
TG: channelling the karkles are we  
GG: well as long as you guys listen i wont need to beat your asses >:|  
GG: so BEHAVE  
TG: okay so no girly slap fights damn there goes half my schedule  
TG: we got a plan  
TG: cause theres a couple of trolls who need a smackdown while im gossiping with the knitting circle  
TT: Yes we do. Jade, you need a break to sleep and recuperate. You're the one who's been expending themselves the most. With your Spectagoggles we'll be able to locate the other trolls instantly and therefore we have the advantage in terms of tactics. While the trolls do not need sleep, their current beastial natures mean they do not bother with traps or cunning, so it is easier to outmaneuver them. As such, I want you to leave Eridan with me. I will stay guard while you rest. After four hours I'll wake you and you can take a turn with scouting, as we can't risk you trying to teleport again for a day or so.  
GG: two hours  
TT: Three.  
GG: oh come on rose  
TT: THREE hours.  
GG: ugh fine  
GG: ill find you asap  
TG: dont get killed again  
GG: har har :/  
EB: okay see you soon. be careful sis!  
GG: yup i'll help you guys hunt later bro >:)  
  
gardenGnostic [GG]stopped pestering ectoBiologist [EB] turntechGodhead [TG] and tentacleTherapist [TT]

With that, you shift your grip on Eridan, who let out an annoyed grunt before squirming closer to you, wrapping his arms around your neck and pressing his face into your collar bone. You set out with a slow jog, taking care not to jostle the seadweller too much. His thick musk clogged your nose, dampening your sense of smell. However with your Spectagoggles firmly attached to your face you didn't need to worry about being snuck up upon.

Carefully you tracked a safe path to where Rose was waiting for you in one of the spare living rooms. Her Seer robes were still blood stained and there was a jagged pattern along the lower robes, as if she had gotten them jammed into something and had to tear them free. Deep circles, like bruises, ringed her eyes and her face was pale and pinched. Her wands were tucked into her belt as she moved the furniture in the room into a defensible position.

You quickly looked for Dave and John, wanting to make sure they were safe as well. Or, at least alive. Dave was currently creeping along one of the massive walkways in one of the lower levels. Below him was the familiar scrawny form of Sollux, who was sniffing and snorting as he prowled about, mismatched eyes glowing. Psisonics suddenly lashed up at the walkway but the Knight easily flashsteps out of the way. Dave then engaged Sollux in close ranged combat- while Sollux was a powerful opponent, he relied heavily on long ranged weaponry ala his eye lasers. Disorientated as the troll was, Dave nimbly avoided the blue and crimson energy beams and darted behind the four-horned troll, smashing the hilt of his sword in the back of Sollux's head, dropping him like a stone.

Satisfied the Knight was safe you directed your gaze to your ecto-sibling who was currently brawling with Tavros, who was forcing John back with his massive horns, growling angrily. The Taurus twisted his head around, attempting to hook his horn tip into John's gut. With a gust of blue John turned into the wind, vanishing as soon as the horn struck which passing harmlessly though the space he just occupied. John appeared behind Tavros and swung his hammer; Tavros blocked with his lance which snapped in half. Snarling the troll pounced on John, bowling him over. The brown-blood's teeth snap at the Heir's face; John pulled his hammer up so Tavros's fangs sank into the handle. John than planted his feet into the troll's gut, kicking up and over him so he landed with a loud crash on his back.

Tavros scuttled back up to feet, lips twisted in rage. He lunged only for John to easily sidestep him, tripping the troll as he went bulling past. Tavros went sprawling as John hopped backwards, grinning broadly. You weren't too worried for John- he would be able to handle himself in this fight.

You did a quick scan of the rest of the trolls- Nepeta was in the library, snuffling through the fort you'd abandoned earlier. Terezi was still unconscious with Kanaya stalking about the room she was in. Feferi was lurking in the dining room, her hair a crazed birds nest. Even as you watched, a large meatloaf struck the seadweller in the face. She turned, snarling, only for a can of Tab to strike her in the left horn. She backed up hissing viciously as the Mayor leapt out from behind an overturned table, brandishing another can and a kitchen prong, his usually light robes decorated in green-and-black camouflage. Feferi lunged for him and the little carapacian darted back behind the table, stabbing Feferi in the side when she got too close. The fuchsia kicked at him and got another stab wound in the shin for her troubles. She twisted and tripped when the Mayor seized her ankle and yanked sending her crashing onto her back. The carapacian quickly ran out the room; Feferi jumped back up to her feet and took pursuit only to get a chair thrown into her face, knocking her back down in a dazed heap. 

You grinned; you had to hand it to the little guy, he knew his way through a brawl. Quickly you switch your Spectagoggles to the remaining trolls- Karkat was in his room, curled up in a ball on his pile, shivering violently. Gamzee, the big weirdo clown, was sitting on the giant jar with the fish-goat monster in, breathing thickly. The only problem was that Equius didn't show up on your Spectagoggles- you figured it was due to the fact he was a Void player. Vriska and Rose glowed brightly like lanterns whenever you searched from them, Vriska still unconscious in the cupboard you stuffed her earlier. True to her world, Aradia wasn't able to be found due to being in a dream bubble.

With one last scan of your route you tighten your grip on Eridan and hurry onward.

\-----

With care and vigilance you managed to make your way to the living room Rose was guarding. The Seer gave a tired yet relived smile when she opened to door to your knock. She quickly ushered you both inside, you stepping in sideways to avoid hitting Eridan on the door frames. You quickly deposit the troll on the couch near the wall; the room was fairly large with two couches, a couple of chairs, some cupboards and a large television attached to the wall. You go flop down on the spare couch, pulling the Spectagoggles off your face and offering them up to Rose.

She accepted them with a smile, carefully fixing them onto her face and pulling her wands free of her belt. She went and sat on one of the chairs facing the door, sitting straight and prim. Across from you, Eridan groaned and rolled, wrapping his cape firmly up around him like a blanket before he nuzzled into it, body relaxing. Likewise you slumped down on your side, tucking your arms under you head. A wave of exhaustion swept your body, causing your eyelids to droop almost instantly.

The last thing you saw before you fell asleep was a pair of groggy yellow cat-eyes gazing at you from across the room.

\-----

Turns out Rose let you sleep for nearly five hours. Though you gave her a chewing out when you woke up, you couldn't deny you felt a fuck load better. While you were sleeping, however, there were some close calls with the trolls nearly finding the room but Rose managed to coordinate the boys, even roping in the Mayor, into hearding the trolls away. John also used his Breath abilities to mask Eridan's scent, wrapping the wind firmly around it so it was all but invisible. This was a bit of a double-edged sword as John had to remain as the wind, and thus unable to fight, while he was doing it. But it turns out Dave and the Mayor were a pretty great tag-team in guerrilla warfare and managed to bamboozle the trolls with regularity.

However not all fights were successful; Rose got a broken leg courtesy of Vriska (who awoke a few hours ago and escaped- however she didn't have her dice) when she switched places with Dave; she managed to shoot off one of Vriska's wings with her wand and gored out her left eye with it still smouldering. While the troll was writhing in agony Rose strangled her with twisted yarn until the cerulean passed out. 

Dave managed to get most of his ribcage crushed when he fought Equius later on- the big blueblood managed to grab Dave's wrist and crushed it. Dave responded by stabbing him right through the shoulder. Equius released his wrist only to seize his side and splintered most of his ribs in one hand. Luckily the Mayor intervened and rammed his fork prong into the center of Equius's broken horn. This sent the blue blood in some kind of fit of sporadic agony before collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Yep, good things you guys healed quick. Didn't make the pain any less of a bitch, though. 

But back to the present; you'd woken up five hours later, refreshed and irritated. John materialized in front of you looking like a walking corpse but still managing to give you a smile. You attempted to take back your Spectagoggles and carry on watching over Eridan- who's scent seemed a little less pungent- but Rose all but chased you from the room, saying she could take watch and you could help Dave and John while she watched over the seatroll and she'd message you if she could see trouble, Light or Spectagoggle issues.

So you equipped your rifle and left, comfort in the knowledge this shitfest had only a few days to left.

\------

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] TWO DAYS FROM NOW began trolling gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
FCG: OKAY, HAVE SOME KERNELS OF WISDOM.  
FCG: DON’T GO IN THE VENTS.  
FCG: DON’T GO NEAR THE VENTS.  
FCG: DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THE VENTS.  
FCG: IN FACT, DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THOSE FUCKING VENTS.  
  
FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] TWO DAYS FROM NOW stopped trolling gardenGnostic [GG]

“Hmm, well that’s weird. Dave, I think we should render the vents off limits.”

“Epiphany?”

“Just some typical charming advice from Karkat. It’s him three days from now, though.”

“Huh, well at least he isn’t getting all-“

A sudden hiss from you silenced the Knight immediately. Your ears perk up and you start sniffing at the air, lips parted. The scent of blood was wafting towards you from down the hall, mixed with a weird greasy smell akin to paint.

"Okay, okay, red flags everywhere," You say, hefting up your rifle, "We need to get the fuck away from the vents. Apparently bad shit is happening there, lets scram."

With that, the two of you abscond.

\-----

"For fucks sake, how fucking difficult is it to alchemize this shit!?"

"John, that's the wrong code."

"What? No, this is the right one. Fucking stupid computer-"

"Punching it isn't going to work."

"That's because I'm not hitting it hard enough-"

"JOHN, KNOCK IT OFF DAMNIT!"

"GO AWAY, JADE!"  
\------

"So, Aradia?"

"Yeah, she was pretty cool. She beat the shit outta Terezi like some crazy cowgirl with a whip."

"Huh never knew she used whips. Would'a tried hitting on her more if I knew she was into that basement shit."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"I don't even fucking know anymore."

\-----

"Fuck you, you stuck up blind bitch!"

"Terezi, fuck off already-ARKKK!"

"Oh shit, John!"

"No it's fine, I've got a spare hand- oh my fucking god-"

\-----

“This is a shitty plan. You wanna know why, Harley? Because it is just so fucking obvious it’s a shitty plan.”

“Oh yeah? Well your face is a shit plan.”

“Dude, lame.”

“Hey, I’m in a rush. Gimme some slack.”

"Someone of my sheer awesome calibrate cannot be slaked, Harley. Even with all your powers of the furry you aren't-"

"I'm not falling for that bullshit 'I'm too cool to show emotions' gimmick you've got going on, so don't go all poker face with me."

"It's not a gimmick, it's totally ironic-"

"Yeah Dave, I'm pretty sure you don't even know what that word means. I think it's Strider lingo for 'lol look at this weird shit I like derpahurr' and you try to fob it off as so-called irony."

"Wow, punch me in the ego why don't you. My heart, it bleeds-"

_"HONK."_

"Oh shit."

\-----

You were in the last legs of this horrid event that was inching into it's fifth day. Sleep deprivation made paranoia rampant and tempers short; you no longer really cared about not killing the trolls as you managed to shoot out one of Terezi's eye's earlier after she cut off John's hand (his hand grew back. Her eye did not. You didn't see the problem, she wasn't using that eye anyway). Likewise your friends were just as violent. John managed to crack one of Tavros's horns, Rose blasted off Vriska's arms and Dave nearly gutted Feferi. Even the Mayor wasn't holding back, stabbing his fork in eyes, horn beds and other sensitive areas.

Of course, exhaustion was making you fuck up- you shot John by accident (luckily it wasn't fatal) after mistaking him for a troll with his black hair. Rose missed a shot with her wand and exploded half a building. John nearly suffocated everyone to death when he pulled the out air of of everyone's lungs and only realized what he was doing when the Mayor slapped him before passing out. Dave managed to K.O himself while flashstepping when he miscalculated and smashed right into a wall. The Mayor tripped down a flight of stairs and broke an arm.

And now life decided to fuck you over via giant alien clown while you were scouting with Dave and the Mayor, John and Rose remaining with Eridan. Rose kept the Spectagoggles and she'd occasionally message you with locations and updates on the trolls. However she and John had just been accosted by Feferi and Equius- they assured you they could handle it, but that meant you have a brief communication black out. And of _course_ this is when the mysterious clown troll decided to show up. You never really had a problem with clowns- you certainly didn't understand John's weird phobia of harlequins who were like cousins to clowns- but you did take issue with murderous potential rapists.

Gamzee certainly did look like he had just crawled out of a nightmare, his lanky body hunkered over slightly, most of his features obscured in the shadows of the dim hallway. His head was lowered so the thick sharp points of his horns were pointed right at you. You could see the slight glint from his eyes through the rats-nest of his hair as he titled his head, honking softly.

"And of course, here is Mistah Pennywise," Dave said in a bored tone.

Out of the corner of your eye you notice the Mayor step up to your side, looking about as crappy as you felt but holding onto his kitchen prong with a determined grip. You could see the tremors of exhaustion running across Dave's frame from where he was standing in front of you. You carefully ease your rifle from around your shoulders, making your movements slow and careful as not to set Gamzee off.

Said troll shuffled forward a few steps, two narrow clubs held in his long-nailed hands. Dave tensed, raising his sword slightly and you brought your gun up to your shoulder in a swift motion, The indigoblood paused, thick lips twisting slightly, breathing coming in thick huffs.

Then he blurred and vanished.

You flinch, realizing he just flashstepped- well shit you could've used that information earlier- and you threw yourself forward the instant the thick chalky smell of paint flickered behind you. With a crash a juggling club went smashing into the floor where you'd just been.

Dave likewise sprang back; in contrast to you both the Mayor darted forward and stabbed Gamzee in the side with his prong fork. Snarling, the tall troll twisted around and snapped at the little carapacian with long fangs; you seized a fistful of his camo-robes and hurl him back. Dave flashsteps behind the indigo and struck him in the lower spine with the hilt of his sword, causing Gamzee to stumble forward.

You let go of the Mayor and aim your rifle; with a _bang_ you fire off a shot, shooting Gamzee in the hand. He ignored this, twisting around with fangs bared and pounced at you. 

A foot went crashing into your gut, knocking the wind from your lungs and throwing you backwards where you hit the wall with a thud. Gamzee growled and swung a club- before it could hit you and turn your skull in a colourful mess on the wall the Mayor sprang up and seized his arm, drawing furrows of purple blood. The troll hissed and jerked back, flailing an arm to try and get the carapacian off; the Mayor retaliated by stabbing Gamzee in the throat with his kitchen prong. The troll didn't even flinch before he sank his teeth into the Mayor's wrist.

You snarled and struggled back up to you feet, wheezing slightly. Before the indigo could bite off the Mayor's wrist, Dave appeared and jumped up onto Gamzee's back. He didn't bother using his sword, instead seized Gamzee's horns in his hands and attempted to pry them apart from one another. With a screech like a jet engine, the Capricorn twisted around so violently he sent the Mayor flying; you flung yourself forward and managed to grab the carapacian before he struck the wall. 

Meanwhile Dave was still gripping Gamzee's horns; the indigo was spitting and screeching in a weird clicking language as he flailed at the Knight. Abruptly he stopped and reached up with a giant clawed hand; Dave immediately flashstepped out of the way just as the claws went through the space his head had just been.

Dave appeared next to where you were setting down the Mayor. Sweat beaded the Knight's brow and tremors were causing his legs to shake. The Mayor looked just as exhausted. Eyes narrowed, you glared at the indigo who was slowly standing upright, a scowl on his face. You heft up your rifle, aiming it at his painted face. Though since he could flash step you probably won't be able to shoot him unless he was occupied. Eh, whatever.

All three of you went tense as Gamzee gave a loud snort, jerking his head up so he was looking at you straight on. Silence fell with you glaring at one another. Then a weird warping started to blur the air around his twisting horns and his eyes began to flicker purple and violet.

Suddenly you felt a disturbing crawling sensation along your body as if it was covered in thousands of spiders. The long shadows of the hallway seemed to warp and distort, stretching towards you like a hundreds of grasping claws. Fear seized a hold of your body, your limbs flushing hot and cold. Your breathing began to quicken and your grip on your rifle tightened to the point you nails were digging furrows into it. Next to you Dave and the Mayor were likewise immobilized, shaking violently. Blood was seeping down Dave's chin from where he'd bitten through his lower lip. The Mayor was hunched down, gripping his head in his hands and twitching.

Sweat began to roll down your back as your heart quickened to a near frantic pace. You could feel your throat clog up as terror began to sink its claws into your head. Every part of your mind screamed for you to run, to flee before the monster slowly lumbering towards you grabbed you and ate you all alive.

Then with a thunderous crash something purple with long spindly legs went smashing into the Capricorn's head, causing him to stumble forward. The strange clawing fingers of fear burrowed into your brain vanished in a blink of the eye, your breath returning to your lungs with a woosh. He turned, a snarl on his dark lips only to be struck again, sending him smacking into the wall with a loud thud and splatter of blood before slumping over in an unconscious, gangly heap. 

You glance over, expecting to see Dave whom you assumed flashstepped behind the downed troll. Instead your eyes widened, seeing Karkat standing behind the slumped over indigo with his husktop held in shaking hands. As you watched he dropped the weird purple laptop and dropped to his knees, shaking violently. The legs on the husktop twitched and then it took off, scuttling down the hallway like some demented crab.

Karkat let out a weird trilling hiccup; His checks were stained in red and you can see he is still crying. Judging from the stains on his shirt and his puffy eyes he must have been crying for some time. The sleeves of his sweater were pushed up to his elbows and you could see numerous long red lines decorating his forearms. Did he do that? Punishment? As a way to try and restrain himself? Or did his unconscious friend do that to him?

"Just...go, please. I...just leave. I'll try to...to get Gamzee away. Keep him away. Not...not near..." He trailed off, his voice soft and broken; even as you watched he doubled over so his face was pressed into his knees from where he was kneeling on the floor. He gave an odd, pained moaning noise and suddenly clawed at his face, hissing angrily. 

You began to move forward, wanting to help him only for the small troll to hiss at you. You jerk back, scowling and adjusting your grip on rifle. Likewise Dave and the Mayor had stepped up behind you. Karkat looked back at them, his face twisting unhappily. His claws dug into his sides, drawing more blood. Then he rubbed at his eyes, causing more crimson tears to start spilling down his face.

"Look, just go. I...just go look after him," Karkat said, his voice hoarse and scratchy.

You trade uneasy looks with Dave; you're still tempted to help the troll- especially since Karkat clearly isn't endorsing the vile behaviour of his friends- but judging from the state the small troll is in he's barely keeping control of himself. Obviously he doesn't want to press his luck being near you or getting any closer to Eridan. Still, he's injured and- You feel something touch your wrist; you jump but relax when you see the Mayor's small hand tugging your wrist. He jerks his head back in the direction you'd come down before turning and trotting off down the hallway, grip tight on the kitchen prong. Dave gives a grunt and turns as well, glancing over at you.

Biting your lip you start to turn then abruptly eject a roll of bandages from your sylladex. Quickly you turn and lob them over to Karkat. They land at his side with a soft _thump._ The troll reached out a shaking hand and picked up the roll before hunching back over. You frown but turn and follow your two friends, leaving the small huddled form of Karkat sitting in the cold corridor alone with his unconscious clown moirail.

\-----

The three of you make your way back to where Rose and John are guarding Eridan; they're fine apart from some knocks and bruises and Rose apologizes for being preoccupied. You're not really too fazed since none of you died (though that alien voodoo shit really didn't help your headaches) and John and Rose look even crappier than you guys do. When you arrive at the room Dave and the Mayor stand guard at the doors. John, who's dozing on one of the chairs, struggles to his feet when you slink inside. You immediately beeline to Eridan who's a crapload more coherent. 

He sounds like he's totally smashed and he keeps on slipping into the hisses and clicks of the trolls native language but at least he seems vaguely aware that you're here. The musk surrounding him is slowly weakening- while it's still obvious when you learned over to check the temperature of his forehead you're confident that you have less than one day to go. One and a half. Well, you're guessing but what the hell, going nearly five days with a few spasmodic hours of sleep was fucking up your thinking. Concentration? Ugh, whatever.

Okay, so all of you are fairly burnt out, even the Mayor. Or...you think he is. Despite growing up with Bec you can't really understand the Mayor's meaningful silences like Dave can. Even so, he was willing to stay and defend the room you'd all commandeered, kitchen fork at the ready and with a fresh brace of Tab that he shared with the room. You had to make Eridan drink, even as he made faces and hissed at the can numerous times while you tried. You figured orange just wasn't his flavour.

\-----

Eventually Rose left to get some supplies- namely more food and drink- you took over Spectagoggle duty and maintained constant pester contact with the Seer as she carefully made her way to alchemizer, armed with her needle-wands. You carefully keep your sight attuned to her while she paused at the hall, waiting as you searched out the trolls.

Vriska was still unconscious and Kanaya was rummaging around in the lower levels. Sollux was down in the room you'd been killed in, snuffling at the room like some weird spindly creature. Tavros was facedown at the bottom of a flight of stairs, unconscious. Equius was a void as usual but you tracked down Nepeta who was digging through someones pile. Feferi was in a bloody heap in one of the closets where John had locked her in and Terezi was prowling up on a catwalk in the jar room. Gamzee was still sprawled out in the hallway with Karkat sitting next to him, leaning against the wall. You notice that the little Cancer had wrapped his forearms up with the bandages you gave him before, though his face was still stained red due to his tears.

You quickly switch your gaze back to Rose; she was alchemizing food, lips pinched and brow furrowed. You quickly told her all trolls barring Equius were accounted for but still urged her to hurry back once she was finished. Luckily she managed to get all her items unmolested and did quickly make her way back to the room. You scanned the trolls again and none were close to her position and the route back was clear.

The Seer arrived quickly back, exhaustion in every movement. She removed some of her supplies which was namely food, numerous bottles of water, fresh clothes and a couple of air freshers. She went to try and help Eridan but you quickly intervened and forced her to the couch. Despite her vocal complaints she began to doze almost immediately after she settled down.

Dave wolfed down several slabs of meatloaf so quickly you were impressed he didn't choke before he asked you where the trolls were- you fired off a list of locations before the Knight left. John capalogued some of Rose's supplies before he too went off to hunt, leaving you and the Mayor to guard over the Prince and Seer.

You handed the Spectagoggles over to the little carapacian, quickly telling him how they worked- you assume the thumbs up meant he understood- before carefully making your way over to Eridan with some of Rose's supplies. The seadweller looked a lot better; his shivering had stopped and his pupils were almost back to normal. However he still smelled, thought the pheromones were slowly ebbing, leaving behind the smell of blood and stale sweat.

You perched on the arm of the chair he wasn't slumped against and carefully wiped at his face with a soft towel. Eridan gave a low, rumbling-like noise, eyelids dropping as you slowly cleaned his face of sweat. You got a bottle of water and dripped some on the cloth before slowly easing his head back and very, very gently rubbed at the inflamed flesh surrounding his gills.

He didn't like that; his eyes snapped open and his pupils locked onto your face and he peeled back dark lips in a snarl. Carefully you stow the bottle and pat at his horns and brow with your spare hand to calm him down. Slowly his lip relaxed, covering back up his long sharp fangs, the aggression leaking from his body. You resume your gentle dabbing on his neck, taking care to avoid pressing down hard.

You carefully wet both sides before you got rid of the cloth and pulled the water bottle back out. It took you a few tries before you managed to convince the grumpy troll to drink the water and he spilled a lot of it down his chin but he managed to choke it down. After that you made him eat some fancy weird seafood soup Rose had somehow managed alchemized. He sniffed at the spoon with a sour look but ended up eagerly quaffing down the bowl after the first few spoonfuls.

After that he huddled up on the chair, knees drawn up to his chest and cloaked wrapped securely around him before beginning to doze. You slowly eased off the arm chair and snagged the spare chair, shifting it to fully face the door, and sat crosslegged on it while pulling your rifle from your strife deck. Carefully you rested it across your knees, keeping your eyes on the door.

\-----

The hours slowly pass but you remain tense and stiff, ignoring the stinging pain of cramped muscles and migraines, as you watched the door. The Mayor was kneeling beside the door, kitchen prong resting across his legs, the gleaming Spectagoggles still firmly attached to his face. Occasionally he'd twitch or type a message to John and Dave but for the most part he remained still and calm.

Rose stirred a few times on the couch as she slept, her dark lips turned down, deep circles riming her shut eyes. The bright yellows and orange of her robes were stained with blood and dust, the usually crease-free fabric torn. Her hands were resting next to her face with her usually well-kept nails ragged and blood stained. Underneath her fight-torn hands were her ever-present wands, ready to grab and blast at a moments notice.

Eridan was likewise slumbering still tucked up in his cape, eyes shut, lips parted as he breathed slowly and evenly. He had a hand clenched into a fist and resting against a sharp cheekbone, golden rings and jewels gleaming against his dark skin. The seadweller gave a low grunt and shifted, eyes flicking open briefly as he stretched and yawned, revealing his mouthful of white, shark-like teeth. He rested his head on the chair arm, his eyes yellow slits. You blinked back at him as his gaze fell on you, lucid and aware. You smile at the troll only for him to huff at you before burrowing back into his cape and turning into a troll burrito. 

You study his strange profile for a few seconds- the coarse almost fur-like hair, black apart from the violent streak; the lightning bolt horns, so bright against his grey scaly skin; the yellow claw-tipped hands gripping the top of his cape. Soft huffs came from him as he dozed, tucking his legs more firmly underneath himself. It was so _odd_ , knowing an alien. You never really considered it 'till now; oddness had always been an everyday thing for you. You could still remember the confusion you felt when John expressed his disbelief when you told him of Bec's teleportation powers, Dave's skepticism when you described your island home, Rose's amusment when you told her your dreams of dead friends you've never met. 

Then Sburb happened and everything went to shit; people died, earth died, Bec died (you do not consider that scheming murderer Jack to be your closest friend, your guardian, your protector) your friends all died, _you_ died. Twice over actually, both with your dreamself than the horrid memories when you merged with your resurrected depressed deadself and became a God.

You pick at your black witch robes, scowling. Fat lot of good Godhood has done so far; apart from saving your asses and the planets you've just sat around useless when the trolls went mad. How did you go from shrinking worlds and shattering realities to being so fucking useless you couldn't teleport without dry heaving or getting your stupid ass stabbed? Oh you remember all the shit Rose said, about the Veil fucking with you but you really weren't in the mood for logical explanations. You just wanted to storm out there and beat all the trolls to death. Well, all the ones who were currently acting so fucking retarded; Karkat and Aradia were okay, so you wouldn't kill them. 

You pause at that, frowning slightly. You could understand Aradia, after all she had Time and Alt selves that informed her of this shit and to avoid going mad over Eridan's pheromones. But Karkat? What stopped him? Well, he did seem a lot more moralistic than other trolls. For all his loud, rude and screeching attitude he obviously cared for everyone, even if he disliked them. Hell, he was even willing to punch out his moirail during this. Maybe...his mutation made him more resilient to it? His future selves warning him in advance? Or was it his aspect, Blood? You shrug, making a mental note to ask the Cancer after all of this. He'll probably know...hopefully. Maybe. Probably not. Well, it was a better plan than sitting speculating all over the place.

Dragging a blood stained hair through your hair, you bare you teeth in a grimace. The Mayor glanced over at you before settling back beside the door, adjusting the Spectagoggles on his face as he did so. 

\-----

Even more hours inch pass; you feel nervous, apprehensive. Your fingers ache from the grip on your rifle, your nails leaving grooves in the wooden stock. Muscles spasm and twitch in your clenched jaw, teeth sore.

Rose wakes after the fourth hour, her pale hair a mess. You make Dave come back to the room to stand guard with Rose while you go join up with your ecto-sibling. There isn't longer to go.

Dave grumbles and complains but he concedes, arriving a few minutes later. He's barely entered the room before you jump to your feet and leave, giving the torn-up Knight a wave before you go.

You meet up with John, who's face seems locked in a constant frown lately. You completely understand.

\-----

You prowl around following the Mayor's commands. Him communicating via all caps is oddly comforting; it reminded you of the numerous times you had rage matches with Karkat. Reminded you of times where everything wasn't fucked. Well, not that badly fucked.

A fight breaks out between the two of you and Kanaya as you pounce on her as she was leaving the living room. The troll looked like shit, face gaunt, makeup smeared all over the place. The scream of her chainsaw is horrendously loud and you're tempted to blow it up.

John managed to blast the noisy weapon out of her clawed hands with a twist of wind, hurling it into a wall. He managed to smash her in the side with his hammer before the Virgo threw herself at John, bowling him over, teeth going for his throat.

You promptly smash the butt of your rifle into her face, smacking her off your brother. She rolled and you sprang after her, giving the troll a good kick in the gut with your red shoe as you did so. She slashed your thigh open with sharp nails; you retaliate with a punch. Kanaya jerked her head as she staggered upright, a horn tip going right into your side with a soft _thunk_. Cursing you jump back, blood spitting down you side.

The John darted forward and with a _crack_ he brought the hammer smacking down between Kanaya's eyes. The troll smashed into the ground, jade blood staining her forehead as she slumped unconscious on the floor.

You teleport her chainsaw to the same place Vriska's dice were before you leaving her on the floor.

\-----

The two of you get directed to Sollux by the Mayor. Apparently he's been snuffling around the same building your friends were in and you were sent to intercept his progress. You know how much if a pain in the ass his abilities were, so this time you decided to risk a ninja run. You told John your plan and he seem both relieved and concerned but you assured him you were rested enough to try.

So the two of you carefully track the troll, John with following his ragged, irregular breathing, you following the yellow blood's smell down the halls. You wait until he pauses at one of the doorways, snorting and snuffling then you quickly sidle to the side so he's smack-bang in your sight. You raise your hands, locking onto the four-horned troll through the cage of you fingers.

With a burst of green you teleport the unsuspecting troll to the bowels of the meteor. A sharp stab in your forehead was the only change in you. So you turn and give a buck-toothed smile to John and receive an identical one in return.

\-----

John got called back to guard duty and Rose joined you in the patrol. You were pleased when she informed you that the swelling on Eridan's neck had gone down and his scent was mostly gone. You agreed with her on the fact you still needed to route the rest of the trolls, though. Waiting for a few hours, days even after the pheromones were all gone would be a safe thing to do.

It was mostly uneventful apart from a brief spat with Equius, who still evaded the Spectagoggles's gaze. You made sure to keep at a safe distance, not wanting another shattered arm. Luckily Rose managed to gut shoot him before he could cripple any of you, sending him crashing in the wall and leaving a formidable dent.

You quickly check the unconscious troll over- making sure not to get within arm reach- but you're satisfied he's not permanently injured.

With a flick of your fingers you zap Equius to the other side of the rock. You stumble as cold seeps up your limbs, Rose grabbing your arm to steady you. Carefully you breathe out and let Rose quietly berate you.

Well, at least you don't have to worry about the Void player at the moment.

\-----

The two of you roam for a few more hours. It was mainly keeping the building you're in clear of any hostile trolls, so you spent a lot of time prowling about with nerves on edge. But after the encounter with Sollux and Equius everything seems quite. Still.

Eventually Rose relents and admits that it'll probably be better to go back to base. You agree and quickly return, half expecting to be ambushed on the way back, even with the Mayor watching over you. 

\-----

Dave and John greet you when you return, the Mayor giving you a thumbs up. You beeline for the troll the moment you enter the room.

You carefully pull Eridan from his cape-cocoon, ignoring his grumbled complaints. He seemed tired, drained and weak, but no longer sweating or feverish. Carefully you check his eyes, pleased with how his eyes react quickly to the change in light. 

Then you ease the cape away from his throat, the gill slits still inflamed and irritable. You lean down towards his neck; Eridan doesn't snap at you, instead tilts his head to the side. You take a deep sniff.

The thick, musty scent of his heat-induced pheromones were gone.

Only the smell of sweat and blood remained.

Finally.

It was over.

Well, the hard part anyway.

Something tells you most of the trolls aren't going to be crawling to you with apologies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No God Tier dies from a Sucker Stab!
> 
> Out of all the trolls, I would bet that Aradia would be the most sympathetic towards Eridan- after all, she knows what its like to have someone try and force something on her, what with the mindrape Equius dealt her with via her robot body. Also, her strifedeck is a whip, epic shit right there and she is one of the most awesomest trolls (also my Starsign/Patron woohoo). I know Aradia could've just beat Terezi outta it with her mind powers right off the bat but I wanted her beating the shit outta someone with her whip. XD And since I dislike Terezi, she was the one who got an ass kicking. 
> 
> Junior Compu-Sooth Spectagoggles- as seen on panel 005096!
> 
> Usually Jade's omnipresent by default- however that's all fucked up since they're stuck between sessions so she can't see everything. She'll get that back when she enters the Alpha session though.
> 
> The Mayor's current weapon of choice; https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5oUmYQbhX3hwccB2B7HywYS_EI0EsTHN9BA0dwK7hQphZRBgyo3GPRg  
> The Mayor is so awesome- he would probably be the best at coridinating the troops, since he nearly kicked the Black side in the chess fight (The Black wins ALWAYS but the Mayor gave them a run for their damn money) until Jack intervened. 
> 
> Also, I love the word 'troll burrito.' I've seen it in quite a few fics about trolls wrapping themselves up like that lmao Oh and Dave needs to call Gamzee 'Pennywise' in more fics.


	10. Chapter 10

The week after was probably just as bad.

The first thing you all did after Eridan came down from his heat was sleep for nearly two days straight, having barricaded the door with a chest of drawers and a couple of cabinets. You awoke, hair wild and eyes bleary, to the sound of wood snapping and jerked upright, groping blindly for your rifle. Your friends had likewise roused themselves, only to pause when you saw that Eridan was the one making the noise; the seatroll was sprawled on the floor, gnawing on the leg of a chair like some hungry rat, making low snorting huffs.

Rose quickly got to her feet and hurried over to Eridan; he gave a low hiss when she got too close but the Seer simply ejected a bundle of jerky from her syalladex. Carefully she offered them to Eridan. His head moved so quickly it was a blur as he snapped the long strips of meat from Rose's hands, his jaws letting out a loud _clack_ as he did so. Rose settled down next to the seadweller, running her hands through his stringy hair as she murmured softly to him as he chewed.

"Well," Dave's slow drawl got your attention, "Seems we've survived the attack of the grey gremlins. Don't think we're gonna go back to being bosom buddies, though."

Your brother scowled, "Yeah well, I really don't want to be friends with them after this."

"I'll say," You quickly agree, "I mean, some are okay, like Karkat and Aradia. You know, 'cause they helped kick ass. But the rest of them? They can fuck off and die for all I care."

Dave let out a hoarse laugh at that, getting to his feet. Now that you'd gotten a good sleep you realized just how shitty everyone looked. Dave looked like he'd attempted a fight with a lawnmower, his red clothes shredded and stained with blood. John still looked exhausted, his glasses cracked, blood covering his lower face due to a previously broken nose. Rose's face was drawn and pale, her Light robes torn and jagged. Eridan seemed half feral, clothes twisted and hair crazed curled up on the ground as he chewed at the strips of meat with shark-like fangs. You looked just as bad. Worse, probably, since you're the only one who died.

The Mayor, who was still wearing your Spectagoogles, was slumped up against the wall with his tiny hands still clenched around the kitchen prong. The tips were stained in a rainbow of blood, as were his camouflage robes. He glanced over at you and gave you the thumbs up, to which you returned.

Carefully you stood, running a hand through the greasy thick strands of your hair. You grimace; Bec would seize the back of your neck and fling you into the lake if he saw how filthy and gross you were now. A nice refreshing dip in your lake, swimming around the bottom and finding all sorts of shells and rocks and interesting fish, Bec, your friend, your protector, waiting for you patiently on the bank, his thick white fur like a beacon- you bite back a sudden lurch of homesickness, blinking rapidly as useless tears sprang to your eyes. Now wasn't the time for that sappy shit.

Still, you felt like someone had lodged a rock in your throat.

Thankfully Rose spoke up, tearing you from your musing of home, "Well, since Eridan is feeling better- or at least not producing any more pheromones- I believe the trolls will have gone back to more civilized states. However, that isn't to say they won't attempt to take advantage of him if they get the opportunity. Kanaya- " Her breath hitched minutely at the Virgo's name before she continued, "- has already stated they know barely anything about Breeders and how they work. They may try and take Eridan, kidnap him even, and try again regardless of the fact he's in heat or not."

You nod, "Yeah, they weren't happy. I think one of us should be with him always, just in case. For like the first few weeks? Not as intense as the last couple of days but just in case they do try anything."

"Indeed. At the moment, however, I believed we need a good shower and meal before we do anything. Eridan especially."

"I can fucking hear ya, you know," said troll grumbled, voice slurred but coherent.

You all look at the seadweller who was kneeling on the floor, rubbing at his face with a ringed hand. His eyes, though unfocused, were bright and shiny as he glanced at you.

Rose's expression of surprise quickly slid into calm, "My apologies, I didn't know when you would regain full control of your faculties. Are you alright? Are you in any pain?" She gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

The violet blood gave her a sideways look, unfocused eyes flicking from her face to her hand resting on his should and back again. Quickly you eject his glasses from your syalldex, going over to him and crouching down. He tensed at your approach but relaxed as he accepted his glasses, pushing the thick frames back onto his narrow face. Carefully you settled next to him in the same manner as Rose, giving the troll a bright smile as you did so.

His fins flushed violet but he didn't snarl or otherwise react negatively. Rose gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and he responded, "Um yeah, I'm...I'm not in pain. Kinda...kinda dizzy and really fuckin' hungry."

Rose smiled, "Well, I'm glad you aren't in any pain. We'll get you so more food and help you get cleaned up."

She went to grab his forearm- you did likewise- only for the troll to stiffen, dark lips curling to expose sharp teeth as he growled lowly. You felt the urge to wap him in the head with a rolled up newspaper instead you seized him by the side of his jaw, gripping it tightly enough to prevent him from reflexively snapping your fingers off but not enough to hold him in place if he really wanted to hurt you.

You stared into Eridan's glaring yellow eyes, keeping your face calm and placid. Rose was carefully patting his arm while Dave and John hovered nervously in the background. At least the two of them had the foresight to keep their weapons sheathed, you supposed. Carefully you stroked his face until the aggression left it, leaving behind a bemused expression.

"Look Eridan," You say, voice calm, "We're not gonna hurt you- we've been having the shit kicked out of us for the last few days for _protecting_ your ass, so don't go acting like we're gonna bash your head in the first chance we get. You have to trust us, okay? So stop acting like an ungrateful fuckface and let us take care of you."

For a few moments all he did was stare at you unblinkingly. Then his fins flared wide as he glanced at the five of you in turn before unclenching his jaw. Slowly you patted his face, fascinated by the cool, scaly texture of his skin. Rose likewise remained still and calm at his side, somehow managing to look poised and in control despite her wild appearance.

Eridan didn't respond to you for a few seconds before his whole body slumped, like someone had let the air out of it. Quickly you shift down next to him, releasing his face to grip his shoulder; Rose mimicked you. His mumble was soft enough you almost missed the words.

"F...fine. I suppose if ya want ta..." he trailed off, fins flushing violet before he continued, "I suppose if ya wwanna get all pale with me an' all, I can totally go along with it."

You break out into a grin and gave him a playful shove, knocking him on his back with an _oompf._

"Um, sorry!"

\-----

Eventually John brought up his concerns over Eridan's room being on the same side of the meteor as the other trolls; namely he was concerned they would try something if he went back there. The four of you discussed the issue- the Mayor at one point offered lodgings at Can Town- and eventually you decided it would probably be best to put the seadweller in the same hall as the four of your rooms where located. You had two spares in the corridor, one of which was right at the end of the hallway so anyone who wanted to get to it would have to get past your rooms.

However you all knew how much trolls like their privacy, they were fairly territorial and really didn't like sharing space so you knew Eridan might not want to be stuffed in the same vicinity as all of you. However when you spoke to him about it, after finally dragging him out of his brooding session, he accepted your offer to move him near you. You were a little concerned at how apathetic he seemed but Rose explained he was probably drained, physically and emotionally, by his ordeal and within a few weeks he should be back to normal.

As it was, you teleported all the contents of his room to the new location; he barely blinked before stumbling over to a messy pile of wands and collapsed on them in a snoring heap. You personally thought it was a really uncomfortable looking bed, but hey trolls were weird.

So you solved the problem of having a safezone for Eridan. However it still left the rest of the trolls to deal with.

\-----

For the first few days you barely left your rooms, leaving only to alchemize food or other such essential items. The five of you remained high-strung and angry whenever any of the trolls were around if you did run into them while out, barring Karkat and Eridan. Aradia, true to her word, hadn't returned to the meteor. You kinda hoped she would've, but you figured her finding a way to kill English was a better way to spend her time than trying to help salvage the shitfest of cross-species relationships. Otherwise you remained in your quarters, nerves tense. You also spent a lot of time in Eridan's room attempting to lure him out of his shell. Unfortunately you'd kinda forgotten how much of a self-righteous ass he could be and you'd slapped him a few times for some uncalled comments about humans. Eventually he learned that wasn't a good topic to go ribbing you all on.

Still, he was fascinating in his own douchebag way and you didn't mind lounging in his room and swearing at one another. Though you wouldn't have minded some chairs, since that wand-pile was fucking comfortable. Rose got fed up with it the quickest and added some of her knitted scarves to the pile in an effort to soften it up. John likewise added some blankets (hand-woven by salamanders he informed you later on) while Dave contributed some disembodied smuppets. You never really got the point of those things and Dave just mumbled some nonsensical sentences before absconding when you had once asked him about it. Nostalgia, then.

You just alchemized some soft squiddles and carefully arranged them in the pile with some help from the Mayor who contributed several brightly-decorated boxes and cans while Eridan was off with a walk with Rose. The two of you settled onto the pile which now didn't seem like a shitton of pointy sticks and proceeded to get into a drawing session. While you weren't particularly artistic, you enjoyed spending some time with the little carapacian; his silence and communication via body language reminded you so much of Bec.

Needless to say you were engrossed in the drawing session, with you attempting to make some passable artwork of all your friends consorts while the Mayor sketches out plans for his renovations of the City Hall in Can Town. Okay you'd prefer some nuclear physics book but your one attempt to lure the Mayor into a debate over quantum physics just left the little guy completely confused.

You figured Eridan's reaction when he saw his pile after all of your contributions a little weird though, his eyes going so wide you half thought they were going to pop out of his head while his fins flared wide and turned a ferocious shade of violet and remained as such for the rest of the evening. He looked scandalized as if he walked in and found all of you in the middle of an orgy or something.

It took you a little more to lure him into the pile after Rose left to get some food. Eventually after a lot of coaxing and tugging you managed to pull him into the pile, you gripping his wrists and the Mayor pushing at the small of his back. You fell into an awkward heap on the pile, you groaning as some wands stabbed you in the side with Eridan and the Mayor falling on top of you.

Needless to say, you spent the rest of the afternoon poking fun at each other and drawing hilariously bad pictures that would've made Dave proud.

Of course, such serendipity wouldn't last forever. 

\-----

The angered tension finally came to a head when Rose went to speak with Kanaya during lunch and it escalated into an angry screaming match between the two. You’d been pretty tempted to leap in and punch Kanaya in the face when she angrily accused Rose of trying to destroy their race, their entire species over her narrow-minded short sightedness.

It finished with Rose snapping that there were less humans around yet they weren't leaping up to rape one another and perhaps the trolls should go extinct if they think such an abhorrent act is acceptable in any scenario, the Seer all but spitting the words at the Rainbow Drinker before storming off.

Later you found her crying in her room with Dave awkwardly trying to comfort her. He looked hilariously relived when you entered the room and mutely offered to trade places, the Knight absconding the instant you had your arms around Rose.

You stroked Rose’s hair, distressed to see the usually unflappable girl so upset, “Come on, Rose, talk to me. You spend so much time listening to our shit; it’s only fair you dump a load on us.”

Rose let out a wet laugh at that, her chuckles mingling with sobs. She scrubbed at her red-rimmed eyes and pressed her forehead against your collarbone, “I assume you heard most of my fight with Kanaya in the kitchen?”

“Yeah. She totally deserved it though! Don’t you dare feel guilty about saying what you did, it’s all true-“

“No, no…I do believe in what I said, harsh and cold as it was. And I think…I think that’s the worst part,” She leaned back slightly, looking at you with distressed violet eyes, “I meant every word I shouted at her. And I don’t think I can…I can’t ever be friends with her. Not after this.”

Your ears flatten against your hair but carry on gazing at Rose, keeping your face open and nonjudgmental, silently prompting her to continue. She looked away, her dark lips twisting.

“I…I always hoped I could get something deeper with Kanaya. We had so much in common and I loved spending time with her, I just wanted something more.”

“Like as a girlfriend?”

“Yes. But after this…I can’t even look at her face without feeling such anger over what happened, feeling such utter disgust towards her. I don't want her anymore, as a lover or even as a friend. I guess I’m just…mourning over something that I had hoped would happen for months and mourning the loss of our friendship that was destroyed in this horrid clusterfuck.”

You didn’t know how to respond to that. Finding out someone whom you had romantic feelings for would rape a member of their own group, would orchestrate a gang rape of said member and then get mad when you call them out on their shittiness, was a sure way to kill any potential romance and friendship and nothing you said would soften the blow.

Instead you remained silent and just held Rose in a warm embrace as she cried.

\-----

Rose later told all four of you not to bother lecturing the trolls after her disastrous encounter with Kanaya. _It just makes everyone angrier,_ she said, _and we don't want any more deaths or injuries._

You wanted to call bullshit but just remembering the agony in her voice when you comforted her after the fight made you remain silent. Dave ascribed to his sister's advice a lot quicker than you and John; he essentially just ignored any of the trolls if they attempted to speak to him, either putting on his head phones or simply stonewalling them. Terezi however was the most persistent in getting the Knight to speak to her, not seeming to notice the "fuck off" vibes coming from him and obviously keen to worm her way back into her good graces.

You never really liked Terezi; In your opinion she was just as fucked up as Vriska in the 'murderous bitch' department. After all you knew full well what had condemned Davesprite into existence and it was her killing John simply for fun. Having shared the experience of being a sprite due to Jadesprite, all the codes twisted around your existence and demented _pulse_ of Sburb clawing at your brain- well, you weren't going to forgive that teal bitch for killing your brother, for forcing Dave to turn into a sprite, for killing you earlier and now the shitty way she was acting. So yeah, you weren't of a pleased disposition towards her to begin with and this whole shitfest just made it worse.

She ended up getting all slimy and creepy after interrupting a conversation you were having Dave in the library, making incredibly unsubtle jabs that this friction was all the human's fault and she and Dave can still go back to hanging out and doing their typical comics if only he relinquished his wicked ways or some such bullshit. Dave ignored her grating voice, shoving her roughly away from him and carrying on talking to you without pause. You glared at Terezi- though you note with satisfaction she was wearing an eye-patch due to the gunshot wound you inflicted on her earlier- struggling not to start snarling at the Seer as she leaned against her dragon-headed cane. 

The same cane sword that she used to kill you earlier. That caused a low growl to escape your lips, ears pinned back against your skull.

The Libra cocked her head in your direction, a shark-like smile spreading across her bony face. You wanted to punch her. Instead you turned back to Dave, struggling to ignore the troll. You succeed at blocking her from your eyeline, but you had no defense for her grating voice.

"Oh come _on_ ," she whined, sidling closer to the Knight, "Why are you snubbing me out, Dave?" God, you hated the way she said his name, all slimy and wheedling, "You didn't even get this mad at me after I killed John! So why are you-"

"Wow, fuck you!" You spit out, turning to face Terezi fully. You absently notice Dave shifting further away from Terezi, moving closer to your side. You relax minutely, knowing he's got your back in this.

"You do not get to talk about my brother!" You hiss, glaring at the Seer as she sniffed at you, "How about you fuck off before I kick your ass, 'cause you're clearly not wanted here!"

A smirk twisted the troll's face, her tongue lolling out as she licked at the air, "Well! Seems we have another accomplice attempting to intervene in a civilized conversation between the two residential coo-"

"Oh kiss my ass! You're fucked up Terezi- I mean, I always knew you were as much of a backstabbing murderer as Vriska, but for someone who apparently has smell-o-vision you're still blind as fuck. Get it through your head; we don't want to talk to you. Go away and stuff your face with chalk or something."

Terezi's smirk vanished and her hands gripped her cane tightly, "Hmm, hostile much? And all this over some non-repentant criminal!"

"Screw you! I don't give a shit what Eridan's done, I don't care what the hell your stupid law shit says about it, he does _not_ deserve that!" You're shaking with rage as you spit out the last words. You felt Dave lightly touch your shoulder but you ignore whatever he murmurs to you.

The troll sneers, black lips twisting as she retorted, "Your rage is clogging my nose with this horrid black burning stench. Why don't you just admit that you were wrong; I mean, none of you even _like_ Eridan so why did you bother trying to delay his well-deserved punishment-"

The words had barely passed the Seer's jagged teeth when your fist went straight into her face, breaking her nose with a meaty crack and sending a bolt of pain up your forearm.

The teal stumbled backwards, tripping over her cane as she fell over with a thud on her rump. You sprang after her, fists clenched, expression murderous as boiling hot rage flooded your brain. Before you could give Terezi a well-deserved kick in the gut a hand seized your God-Tier hood. Snarling you twisted around, snapping at the hand that held you. You stopped short when you saw Dave's stoic face.

Reluctantly you let him pull you away from the snarling Seer. You were shaking with rage all the way back to your rooms, barely aware of Dave's firm grip on your elbow. It was only when you were sitting against Dave's bed did you unfurl your hands, absently watching the nail marks on the palm of your hands heal over even as red remained stained your skin.

Dave didn't offer any kind of lecture or rebuke as he sat cross-legged on the bed, simply watching you with a mild expression before ejecting his turntables. His silence was oddly comforting.

You suck in several large breaths, inhaling through your mouth and exhaling through your nose until your muscles relaxed and your ears slowly perked back up. You slump back against the bed, suddenly feeling drained and tired.

None of this was going to be simple.

\-----

Despite Rose's warnings, you ended up confronting all of the trolls. Bec never taught you to back down from a fight or leave things unresolved and you sure as shit wasn't going to let the trolls get off with just the silent treatment for their behaviour so you tracked them down. Individually of course; you were angry but not stupid. Still, you made sure you were well rested and Eridan was being looked after when you did so; just in case something bad did happen you had enough energy to teleport yourself out of harms way.

As it turns out, Tavros and Nepeta were the only trolls who seemed to genuinely regret their attitude during that week.

Tavros, when you found him in one of the lower levels, immediately flinched away from you when he spotted you coming towards him. You knew you were glaring death as you stopped in front him him, noting the way he was hunching his shoulders and avoiding eye-contact and you took satisfaction in his submissive behaviour. Leaning forward you growled at him, just loud enough for him to hear. The brownblood's shoulders hunched even more and he backed off a few feet.

"So, did you enjoy mindcontrolling me? Make you feel high and fucking mighty like Vriska?"

That got his attention; Tavros quickly looked over at you, his brow furrowing. Obviously he didn't expect you to come at him from that angle. He was probably just expecting a fist to the face or for you to start ripping on him about Eridan.

"I didn't- I didn't mean to do it, I just wanted-"

"I don't give a flying fuck if _Lord English himself_ told you to do it! You were high, it's not like you were being mind controlled, not like you did with me! I figured you of all people would know how horrendous it is to be controlled, fuck knows Vriska did it to you enough!"

Tavros shifted further away from you, shaking his head slightly, lips twisted into a grimace and eyes clenched shut, "I, I didn't want to do it. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have done it if...if-"

"Yes, you feeling bad totally makes it okay, doesn't it? Regret completely excuses all the shit you did! I mean, I forgave you for killing my Grandpa- I can barely even remember him for one and you stopped me from shooting myself; with that, you saved me and I forgave you for it. But _this_ , this is just another level of fucked up! You knew what you were doing, you weren't trying to defend anyone this time! But no, I should just forgive you for this, right? 'Cause you feel bad? I'll remember that next time I brainwash someone into attacking their friends and wanting to rape one of them! I felt bad afterwards, so who gives a shit, right? Christ, I'll have to take note of that anytime that I-!"

A sharp salty scent assailed your nostrils causing you to pause in your angry tirade and glance around, frowning before you realize it was coming from Tavros.

He was crying.

Instantly you felt a wave of guilt settling in your stomach; just as quickly you felt anger rage against it. How dare he cry like that, how dare he make _you_ feel bad, as if you were the one trying to brainwash people and assault someone who was disoriented and vulnerable.

Tavros meanwhile had backed off, scrubbing at his eyes with one hand and letting out small, wheezing breaths as he started to sob.

You were conflicted; one, you still hadn't forgiven the brownblood and probably wouldn't for a while but two, he obviously regretted his actions. And considering the previous screaming match between Kanaya and Rose this was a rare attitude with the trolls.

Even so, you couldn't bring yourself to comfort or shout at him as he cried. Instead you just turned and walked away.

\-----

Nepeta was sitting against that massive, picture littered wall in her den. At the sight of her you felt the instinctive urge to attack her and chase her up a tree, much like the scenario with Jaspers. You gave a grunt and shook your head a few times before going back to watching the troll. You were wary, remembering the vicious, ferocious state she was in during her attacking on you in the Jar Room.

But now she just looks so _small_ curled up against the wall, tail tucked around her legs, hair snarled and wild. Her always-present blue cap was clenched in her claws. You debated on what angle to confront her, arguing in your mind when she twitched, ears perking, and then she looked over at you.

Her grey face and collar was stained with green tears, eyes swollen and shining as she stared at you.

 You turned away without a word.

\-----

The rest of the trolls, however...well, at least you could teleport the hell out of dodge.

Equius you tracked down right after finding Nepeta sobbing against her shipping wall; you found him by following the thick musk of his scent. There were some benefits to his excessive sweating. He was sitting on top of one of the old machinery in a nearby room, fiddling with some robotics. His face grew stern when he noticed you, glancing up as he heard the click-clack of your red shoes as you entered the room.

The two of you stared at each other without blinking; you glaring, Equius blank faced and sweating. He wasn't wearing his usual shades so you had completely access to his blue eyes ringed with bruise-coloured shadows. You knew the blueblood would probably be one of the toughest to crack; you've learned all about his biased, arrogant stuck-up behaviour on the few times you spoke with him. Despite that you had hoped you could become friends with him, mainly due to the fact you longed for someone to be able to do robot-building and chat tech with. But nope, that bridge was burned and was just ash now.

Walking forward you crossed your arms, a scowl on your face as you halted before him.

You weren't stupid enough to get within arms reach though.

His dark lips twisted into a frown but he otherwise didn't react to you, just sat there with sweat sliding down his face as he carried on tinkering with the robotic arm spread across his lap.

You teleport it to the other side of the meteor with a thought.

Equius let out a grunt and flinched back from the blast of green before looking at you with a glare. You stare right back unflinchingly. 

You didn't really know how long your stare contest with Equius went since you didn't have the precise mental clock that Dave had, but you remained still and unblinking until your eyes began to water and your muscles began to cramp.

Then Equius flinched minutely and looked away, breaking eye contact with you.

You left.

\-----

After that you went back to visit Eridan and John, who was currently 'fish-sitting' as Dave put it. Your brother had an inkling of to what you were doing, but like Dave he didn't confront you over it. He was just as angry as you were over this. You spend the rest of the afternoon reading a physics book while John and Eridan talked about magic (moreso Eridan insulting John for his belief in magic and John scoffing at Eridan's disbelief).

You read the book, despite having already memorized it, even as you think about the rest of the trolls; Feferi, Vriska, Kanaya, Sollux. Hmm, Sollux would probably be the biggest problem due to his powers. But the others weren't anything special. You weren't too sure about what to do with Kanaya; Rose had already given her a spectacular call-out in the kitchen but even so she essentially orchestrated the event. Hmm.

Well, there was also Gamzee but that was one brand of fire you weren't keen to play with again. Or maybe you could kick his ass after getting out of the Veil. Or teleport his horns somewhere.

Bah, you'll proceed with your angry rebukes later. Now, you just want to spend some time with your brother and new fishy friend.

\-----

The next day you met up with the Mayor in Can Town, complaining to him about the whole situation. You more so raged while he drew angry pictures about everything. You could certainly relate to that. You also confided in him about your confrontations to which he gave you a fist-bump and then made some violent motions with his kitchen prong. While you agreed with his support of violent retribution, you knew that was one of the requests you would comply with from Rose. Well, maybe just the 'don't kill anyone' request.

Still, maybe some backup would be helpful- or at least letting the Mayor get his own opportunity to scold the trolls. You offered this and the little carapacian eagerly accepted and the two of you departed Can Town to hunt down the remaining four, making sure to check that Eridan was alright as you did so. He was with Rose and Dave, so he was guarded (though in terms of conversation he might be a bit in harms way.)

You had made your way to the main computer lab with the Mayor, finding Sollux typing away on one of the computers. You didn't bother with pleasantries, just marching up to him and glaring. The Mayor however jabbed him in the side with his fork, causing the yellowblooded troll to jump and swear angrily. Needless to say the rest of the confrontation went along that route, with a massive amount of swearing, yelling and objects getting thrown. 

It ended up going the same route as your interaction with Terezi; with Sollux essentially speculating on why the fuck all of you even gave a shit about Eridan since none of you liked him which resulted in you punching him. However he was a bit tougher than the Libra and he threw you right into the wall with his psionics. You were only a bit bruised but the Mayor ended up bashing Sollux in the head with a can of Tab. That just seemed to anger the troll even more, however you spitefully brought up Aradia and how she helped you despite her dislike of Eridan which shut him up.

Snarling, Sollux absconded after that. You think he got the point

Feferi...well, that really wasn't a fight you were going to be boasting about. You knew she and Eridan had be the troll version of BFF's back before Sburb and they had the whole murder thing, but really, that wasn't a good enough reason for her attitude. From what Karkat had told you, Feferi was supposed to be a nice person with the whole 'revolutionize the Empire to be all hug and love' as he put it. You'd spoken to her a few times before the whole incident and she was one of the less hostile of the trolls. (In your opinion all of them were fairly shit with the trolling thing) She certainly wasn't acting nice though when you found her in the kitchen. Instead she went the Kanaya route, angrily condemning your actions since it was for the good of the troll species. The Mayor nipped that in the bud with a stick of chalk to the head in mid-rant. After that it pretty much dissolved into angry cursing, finally ending with her nearly stabbing you in the face with her spare trident before the Mayor gave her a jab in the horn bed with his fork and the two of you absconded the hell outta there before things went really ugly. 

You went to look for Vriska afterwards, finding her arguing with John. Luckily you intervened before one of them got killed in the ensuing fight that broke out though you got a black eye for you troubles and John a broken arm. Vriska didn't fare better with a cracked horn before she stormed off in a rage. John later confessed he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with Vriska, he just needed to vent at her. You understood perfectly.

With Kanaya you just pestered her.

After that conversation you knew you'd probably kill or seriously maim her if you met her face to face, so you decided to ignore her after that.

\-----

gardenGnostic [GG] are you sure you want to block adiosToreador [AT] twinArmageddons [TA] arsenicCatnip [AC] grimAuxiliatrix [GA] gallowsCallibrator [GC] arachnidsGrip [AG] centaursTesticle [CT]terminallyCapricious [TC] and cuttlefishCuller [CC] ?  
  
gardenGnostic [GG] has blocked adiosToreador [AT] twinArmageddons [TA] arsenicCatnip [AC] grimAuxiliatrix [GA] gallowsCallibrator [GC] arachnidsGrip [AG] centaursTesticle [CT] terminallyCapricious [TC] and cuttlefishCuller [CC]  
  
gardenGnostic [GG] has unblocked caligulasAquarium [CA]  


\-----

The Mayor also wasn’t forgiving. He had plastered a large sign outside Can Town, announcing that all trolls barring a select few were permanently banned from the area. He had scribbled thick lines of crimson, dark red and violet under the “EXEMPT” line. Any troll not of those colours got pelted by sticks of chalk and, in extreme cases, full cans of Tab if they attempted to ignore the sign.

Needless to say, Terezi didn't take her banning particularly well considering how often she was in Can Town before the 'incident'.

However the Mayor would not relent; regardless of past friendships he would refuse entry to any not on the exempt list. Terezi got another set of broken glasses for her trouble courtsy of well-aimed hits via cans.

You did find Karkat in Can Town once, however, when you dropped by to visit the little carapacian. You greeted the Mayor and went to say hello to Karkat only to find he had already absconded. You were confused about his behaviour and asked your friends about it. Rose speculated Karkat probably felt ashamed; even though he saved you from Gamzee, he was the proclaimed leader of the trolls yet said group has had failure after failure crash down upon them.

John then remarked about how your own group had fucked up quite a bit to which Rose pointed that none of you had attempted to murder and rape one another. Okay, point taken.

Still, you didn't like Karkat isolating himself. However he wouldn't answer any of you when you pestered him and trying to catch him in Can Town was a bust. Well, you hoped he would talk to you eventually.

\-----

Things were still terrible a week afterwards. The two groups were ignoring each other barring some snarky comments and threats of bodily harm. Karkat still hadn't shown up. You were concerned to the point of searching for him with your Spectagoggles one day while hanging about with Eridan, finding the redblooded troll slumped over his computer desk asleep. He looked unharmed, just tired and weary. 

You searched the rest of you little meteor group with the goggles; Dave and the Mayor were screwing about in Can Town, making some kind of new hall or something. Rose was sitting in her room, knitting some kind of sock thing. John currently harassing some of the trolls in the computer lab as the wind via knocking over their things and blowing them over. You watched them for a few more minutes before pulling the Spectagoggles off and captchaloging them for later.

Eventually you turn to the seadweller; he was a bit more lively after a few days of recuperation, though he remained nervous and fidgety. You made sure he wasn't let alone too long though you were concerned that all of you were coming along as smothering. Turns out that was a baseless concern since Eridan obviously relished any kind of attention to the point of being needy.

Rose thrived the best with that, clearly enjoying any chance to speak and understand him better. It was kinda apparent Eridan had some deep seated homicide and isolation issues that you all kinda wanted to get worked out asap.

That being said, you all still needed to look after him. After one incident involving Vriska while you were with him on a walk about the meteor left you with some nasty injuries you alchemized Ahabs Crosshairs for him. You made it pretty damn clear he was only supposed to use the weapon if he got accosted while any of you weren't around (like hell you were making him a wand, he'd have to made do with that shitty rifle of his) and not to use it to murder any of you. You figured he learned his lesson after the last time he tried to kill people.

Talking on the pile was kinda fun, though, considering how it was big enough to span a quarter of the room so you could all sit on it at a time. It took a while to finally coax Eridan into actually talking with you and some of the shit he told you about Alternia just made you hate the place even more. You had no idea how the trolls could make a place like Earth after living in a crapsack world like theirs. Though you did find the fact they were ruled by an Empress pretty neat. Sure, an evil sociopath of an Empress, but an Empress all the same. They even had dragons and giant flying whales on their planet. Also giant seahorses or "skyhorses" as Eridan called them, one of which was apparently Eridan's dad. Bec couldn't fly, but you could understand the whole "raised by someone not of the same species and who couldn't talk" thing.

Those small moments of content and friendship certainly made up for all the rest of the shit you were all dealing with.

\-----

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
CG: IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE THE SAME, IS IT.  
GG: yeah  
CG: I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.  
CG: I JUST  
CG: I'VE NEVER LIKED YOUR SPECIES. THOUGHT YOU WERE WEAK AND FUCKED UP EVERYTHING LIKE THAT RETARDED SHIT YOU DID WITH JACK.  
GG: technically that was your guys fuck up karkat >:(  
GG: yeah i know about vriska knocking me out all the fucking time so dont you try and shove jack on us!!!  
GG: it was her fucking fault and yours as well since youre the damn leader! same with this whole fucking mess!   
GG: why didnt you try to stop them??  
CG: WOULD YOU SHUT UP HARLEY?  
CG: I'M TRYING TO MAKE A PROFOUND AND BLOOD PUSHER FELT SPEECH RIGHT FUCKING NOW.  
GG: ugh fine but dont expect me to forgive you guys just because you ask me to!  
CG: THAT WASN'T WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY. NO WAY FUCKING NEAR IT.  
CG: BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.  
CG: YOU HUMANS ARE BETTER THAN US.  
GG: what?  
CG: NOT AT FIGHTING OR CONQUERING GALAXIES. WE STILL KICK YOUR ASSES AT THAT.  
GG: >:(  
CG: BUT BEING DECENT FUCKING PEOPLE? YOU KICK THE SHIT OUT OF US AT THAT.  
CG: AND YOU'RE RIGHT. I'M A USELESS FUCKING LEADER. COULDN'T STOP EVERYONE FROM DYING.  
CG: COULDN'T STOP THIS STUPID SHIT AND PRETTY MUCH PROVING YOUR POINT ABOUT US BEING SCUMBAG MONSTERS.  
CG: IT'S MORE LIKE   
CG: I DON'T KNOW.  
CG: I SUPPOSE I KIND OF WANT TO THANK YOU?  
GG: really? :/  
CG: FOR SAVING HIM.  
CG: HE MAY BE A COMPLETE FUCK UP BUT ROSE WAS RIGHT.  
CG: NO ONE DESERVES THAT.  
GG: thats why we helped him  
CG: YEAH.  
CG: AND IF TROLLS DIE OUT LIKE KANAYA SAID- WELL, WE'RE PLAYING A GAME THAT DESTROYED OUR FUCKING GALAXIES AND NOW WE'RE BEING HUNTED BY TWO LUNATICS, ONE WHO'S GOT THE ABILITIES OF A FIRST GUARDIAN AND ONE WHO CAN FUCKING KILL GHOSTS.   
CG: WE'RE PROBABLY FUCKED EITHER WAY, REGARDLESS OF US GETTING ANOTHER MATRIORB OR BREEDER.  
GG: his name is eridan  
CG: WELL, YEAH. I KNOW THAT.  
GG: yeah! so dont fucking call him breeder cause that shit dehumanizes him!  
GG: um detrolls him?  
GG: just dont fucking do it  
CG: SEE, THIS IS THE SHIT I'M TALKING ABOUT.  
CG: NONE OF YOU EVEN FUCKING LIKE HIM OR ARE IN QUADRANTS WITH HIM BUT YOU STRAIGHT OUT ATTACKED US TO PROTECT HIM.  
GG: us not liking him had nothing to do with it!!  
GG: we wouldve helped any who this happened to  
CG: even if it was gamzee or vriska we wouldve helped them  
CG: YOU KEEP ON PROVING MY FUCKING POINT.  
CG: I NEARLY WANT TO VOMIT READING THIS SELF-SACRIFICING SHIT.  
CG: VOMIT OUT OF DISGUST FOR MY FUCKING SELF AND THE REST OF MY SHITTY SPECIES.  
GG: at least you admit it >:(  
GG: i think thats the worst part that so many of you guys wont admit that what you wanted to do was fucked up  
CG: ALTERNIA WAS FUCKED UP.   
CG: TO US  
CG: TO THEM, I MEAN.  
CG: THEY WERE DOING NOTHING WRONG.  
CG: IT WAS SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENED. SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU EVENTUALLY.  
GG: i dont give a fuck about whatever excuse your trying to make for them karkat!  
CG: I'M NOT  
CG: I'M NOT TRYING TO MAKE ANY FUCKING EXCUSES FOR THEM, ALRIGHT?  
CG: I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU DID. THAT THIS SHIT IS REALLY WRONG.  
GG: see???  
GG: youre a troll who grew up on that shitty planet but you didnt end up as fucked as they are!  
GG: so stop trying to explain their fucked up behaviour cause i really dont give a shit how crappy their childhood was!!!  
CG: ALRIGHT.  
GG: but anyway  
GG: for what its worth karkat?  
GG: im glad you helped us  
GG: i want you to know that   
CG: UM, OKAY.  
GG: do you want to say hello to eridan??  
GG: i know you guys were kinda friends before the whole dead thing  
CG: I DON'T KNOW. HE PROBABLY DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO ME.  
GG: you dont know that!  
GG: look just come by the room in the next few days or something okay???  
GG: ill be with him though just in case  
GG: ???  
GG: karkat?  
GG: come on he wont mind i bet  
GG: just come see him  
GG: please??  
GG: ??  
CG: ALRIGHT.  
  
carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
GG: :)  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Durr what is prompt updating?
> 
> So, everyone survives but now they're all miserable! 
> 
> Well, anyway, it's done and kinda okay? Not bad for a first attempt to write a big multi-chapter fanfic. Just ignore all the blatant mistakes and failures lol Also I had to stop myself after a while with this chapter, otherwise I would have just gone on and on and on.
> 
> With Jade, I would figure she'd understand a lot of the trolls more animalistic behaviour more, due to being raised by a dog/lusus like the trolls were. That's why she liked that Tavros was submissive towards her (asserting she was dominant) and her physical, less verbal confrontations with the other trolls since she picked up a lot more on their body language. And yes, I think Tavros and Nepeta would be the most repentant out of the lot.
> 
> And random ask; Why does 'jegus' and 'gog' show up in pretty much every fanfiction of homestuck? Terezi says jegus _once_ and she's blatantly trolling while doing it. Gog never shows up and jegus never does afterwards. I don't get why it's everywhere??? 
> 
> I tried to make Eridan still a self-entitled douchebag but he is grateful towards the beta kids and Mayor, so he doesn't act as skeevy as usual. Though Jade gave him a what-for when he tried that shit lol Also, he's kinda confused since the four of them are acting Pale towards him, i.e protecting him and making sure he's alright, comforting him when he gets upset, so he's getting overloaded with troll-feels which is why he gets a bit confused and bewildered in a few of his scenes. It's like he's trapped in a five-way moirailship ahahaha so he feels kinda 'dirty' since all the humans are papping and comforting him. Also adding things to his pile which is like getting to third base. Poor dude. XD
> 
> Also, Jade was so confrontational towards Karkat since she kinda blames him a bit; he's the leader of the trolls but ultimately he didn't do anything to stop this. She knows he tried, but she's still just angry at the moment. She gets over it eventually.
> 
> I'm really tempted to do some panel redraws for this fic XD


End file.
